


Horrors of a Hidden Past

by Koko91



Series: A Blind Ninja [1]
Category: Naruto
Genre: Explicit Language, F/M, Slow Burn
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-28
Updated: 2020-11-08
Packaged: 2021-03-03 18:36:25
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 42
Words: 81,804
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24970117
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Koko91/pseuds/Koko91
Summary: What happens when you have to hide everything about who you are? Your history? Your family? Your truths? What happens when you learn early that no one can be trusted? Kohana Rai has so many things that she feels that she has to hide. As things move forward in her life, she finally has to start to move forward, discovering things that she never knew were possible. Rated for language.
Relationships: Hyuuga Neji/Original Female Character(s)
Series: A Blind Ninja [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2005990
Comments: 13
Kudos: 13





	1. Enter: Kohana Rai

**Author's Note:**

> If you recognize this writing, it was originally posted on FanFiction.net. I've been working through it again to make sure that it is updated and reads much more easily. As always, if you recognize it, I don't own it. I love the world of Naruto, but I just play there.

Name: Kohana, Rai

Meaning: Little Flower, Trust

Gender: Female

Race: Human

Age: 12

Birth date: December 28th

Height: 144 cm

Weight: 25 kg

**\- Ninja Information -**

Status: Academy Student

Notes: Blind in both eyes

\- Taijutsu: Poor

\- Genjutsu: Specialist

\- Ninjutsu: Above average healing jutsu

\- Blood: Unknown

\- Ninja Weapon Mastered: Senbon

\- Mission Experience: A-0 B-0 C-0 D-0

\- Special Move: Has knowledge of emergency medicine and healing jutsus

**-Other-**

\- Family: Mother (Akiko), Father (Hiro), and older brother (Towa)

\- Birthplace: Kusabana

\- Status: Academy Student

\- Pets: None

**\- Physical Description -**

\- Hair Style: Black, very short in the back and chin length in the front, side-swept bangs

\- Eyes: Pale blue, no pupil (originally very dark blue, almost black)

\- Body: Petite

\- Marks: N/A

**-Personality-**

\- Likes: Music, good food

\- Dislikes: Being laughed at, getting in trouble

\- Fears: Her father

\- Goals: To become a healer

\- Occupation: Academy Student

\- Most Prized Possession (important or emotional value): Metal flute from her mother

**\- History-**

Not much is known about this young academy student. She gets top marks, is very quiet, and listens well. She has most of the qualities of a nin that most people are looking for. No one knows she's blind, except for one girl who Rai would trust with her life.

She mastered flute when she was quite young, having no other hobbies or reasons to do anything else and cast her first illusion with it at the age of seven. Beginning then, her mother taught her medical jutsu, knowing that Rai would never be one for killing someone.

She is quite clueless when it comes to gossip, love, and other things of that sort because of her parents' habits and rules.

"It is now time for the final exam to begin. Your names will be called in a random order. The test may be different for some people, depending on disabilities or abilities," Iruka-sensei explained, his pen tapping on his clipboard. His voice had an air of hopefulness, but was hard at the same time. It was almost if he was trying to prepare himself for a letdown.

I turned to the girl next to me. She had helped me out a lot during the years of school, helping me find ways to hide my disability, knowing that I would never accomplish anything if the superiors found out I was blind. "Hey TenTen-san, do they know I'm, well, do they know?" I just wanted to make sure. Because, when Iruka-sensei was speaking, it felt like his tone was because of me. Maybe it was just because of my father.

"I'm not sure. I don't believe so. You learn about your surroundings so quickly so it doesn't seem like you are, just using echoes and chakra. I believe me reading off the lessons to you has worked; you can memorize almost everything you've heard. You never need help when doing signs, it's like you knew them all your life. I think they don't know, unless you told them in the first place, as I know you didn't."

I shook my head, "I could still see for the entrance exam. Remember? My eyes were dark blue."

"Yeah, they have lightened a lot."

"TenTen." The call came from the doorway.

"Oh that's me! Wish me luck," she said happily. I heard her stand up and her hand landed on my shoulder, giving a comforting squeeze.

"Let me know how you did, and good luck," I called after her, a soft smile curling the corners of my lips.

Time passed slowly as I waited for her to come back. It must have been a half hour or so when I closed my eyes and listened to other conversations going on around me.

"I wonder how Neji did."

"Yeah, he hasn't come back yet."

"But you know he did well. He's the best in the class."

"We don't need to worry about him passing or not."

"We know he's not worried about it. He's sure that he'll pass." _Hyuuga Neji, I haven't met him yet. I know he's the best in the class, and expected to graduate with top marks. I'm just hoping I pass._

"I hope this isn't too hard. If it is, I'll do my best."

"Will you shut up Lee? You heard what Iruka-sensei said; the tests will be different for the people who have 'disabilities'. And you know you can't beat Neji's scores. There is no way."

"I'm not going to let him beat me."

_Rock Lee is a ninja that can't use ninjutsu or genjutsu. He works hard enough. I hope he makes it..._

"Kohana Rai."

_That's my name. I'm known as the slow-moving quiet girl with good reflexes who only speaks with TenTen. People don't really know me, except by face. They wouldn't be able to distinguish me by voice. But I only know everyone by voice, and can tell everyone apart by the way they walk. Only one of the ways being blind is an advantage..._

I stood up, opening my eyes and moved to the end of the row where the stairs were. I ran my fingers along the backs of people's chairs to guide me, counting the steps to the end of the row. Ten to the aisle, a ninety-degree turn to the left, and fifteen steps to the front, another eighty-degree turn to the right, eight steps to the door, where Iruka-sensei was waiting. As I moved down the stairs carefully, my fingers trailed the edges of desks, the grain of the wood rough against my sensitive fingertips. I could sense the man's chakra and moved toward him.

"Come with me." His footsteps left the room and echoed down the hallway. I followed him by sound to a nearby classroom. Entering it, I could sense the chakra of two people, Miyuki-sensei and Iruka-sensei.

"Kohana Rai, we are giving the normal test, even though we are aware of your healing and genjutsu abilities." I nodded quickly. "Very well. Please create at least three Bunshin."

My hands folded and twisted in to the hand position that they so well knew. A shock of chakra ran through me, creating the clones I had been instructed to create. A poof of smoke, and there were four images of me standing in front of the two senseis.

"I think that's all the information we need. Congratulations! You pass!" I heard Iruka-sensei say, the wide smile almost verbal.

I couldn't help but allow a smile to creep on to my features. "Thank you," I said softly, going in to a bow of respect.

I took my new hitai-ate and tied it around my head, keeping my bangs out of my face, the metal of the plate cool against my fingertips. I ran my fingers through my short hair, smoothing it in to place.

"You're allowed to leave now. Orientation is tomorrow, beginning at normal school time," Miyuki-sensei instructed. I gave a curt nod and exited the classroom, following the memorized steps with ease to the main exit of the academy.

A slow breeze passed through the small courtyard-like area in front of the school, somewhat cooling the warm day. Chattering from the academy students that passed the test flew through my senses, allowing me to pick up most of the words. It seems all of my classmates, who have gone so far, have passed the test. Their parents and family members were congratulating them on _'a job well done'_. My smile faded and my eyes became downcast. I would have no one come to congratulate me today, or any day. As always, it was just me, myself, and I.

"Rai!"

_And maybe TenTen-san..._

Female arms were thrown around me in a bone-crushing hug. "Congrats, I'm glad you passed. I don't believe your parents are here yet, though I'm sure they will be." I could, like with Iruka-sensei, almost hear the smile in her voice.

I shook my head, returning her hug gently. "They're not coming. So I'm just going to head home. I'll see you tomorrow at the orientation, okay?"

The weapon's master moved away slightly with her hands still on my shoulders. "Are you sure?"

A small smile curled the end of my lips. "Of course. Don't worry about me. I'll be fine. See you later," I called over my shoulder, along with a small wave, as I headed for home. _Tomorrow should be fun..._


	2. New Teammates

I walked in to the classroom to hear and sense that the large room was almost empty. _I shouldn't be too early..._

"Hey Rai!"

"TenTen-san," I called softly. I followed her chakra and voice to the back of the room, finding an empty chair next to her.

"I hope we get on the same team."

I smiled at the older-girl's enthusiasm. "I do too. I really do wonder whom we're with. If you're there, it will be easier to tell the team about being-" I stopped speaking, knowing she knew what I meant.

I felt her hand on my shoulder, giving it a comforting squeeze. "Don't worry, Rai. Your medical abilities and genjutsu will make up for that ten times over."

I smiled. "Thank you." I said softly.

I felt Iruka enter the room, his footsteps light and pleased. I turned my head to the front, indicating his entrance, and TenTen followed my motion. "All right everyone. Settle down and we will start the team assignments." Rustling and hurried footsteps sounded through the room as the other soon-to-be-genin found their seats. "Now we can start. The first team..." For the next few minutes, Iruka listed off the names of the teams. "...Finally, our four-man team will consist of TenTen, Rock Lee, Hyuuga Neji, and Kohana Rai. Those are your team assignments. Now will be your break for lunch, and we will convene in an hour to meet your jounin senseis. This is good-bye, and good luck." There was a pause, and his footsteps headed out of the room.

TenTen and I stood up, heading for the front of the classroom to find our teammates. "There will be a lot less explaining to do since you and I are on the same team," I voiced gratefully, gently touching the back of her hand in gratitude.

"It also means we're not stuck with a bunch of guys. It'll be nice to have a girl to hang out with." A giggle escaped the older girl's throat.

“Wouldn't we hang out anyway, after training and between missions?"

"Of course. Oh, here come our new teammates."

Two sets of footsteps I had long since memorized were drawing steadily closer to the two of us. The heavier walk belonged to Rock Lee, a taijutsu user and the bottom of the class due to the inability to use neither ninjutsu nor genjutsu. Hyuuga Neji, a branch member of the prestigious Hyuuga clan, owned the lighter, quicker walk. He was a genius; one of the best users of the kekkei genkai titled the _'Byakugan'_ , and was often stalked by the other female ninjas of our year. You couldn't help but feel almost sorry for him.

I turned my gaze to the ground, as I had learned, and to avoid any questions about not meeting someone's gaze.

"TenTen and Rai-chan, right? I'm-"

"Rock Lee, primarily taijutsu user, though lacking in ability, unable to use genjutsu and ninjutsu. Carries enough spirit for ten shinobi," I cut in, rattling off what I knew of him.

Surprised gazes settled on me, which I only returned with a small smile.

"Hyuuga Neji," the older male said simply.

"Proud holder of the Byakugan, top of the class, passed with top marks, strong believer in Fate and Destiny, liked by most of the girls in our year," I repeated what was in my memory.

More surprised gazes, which, again, I only returned with a small smile.

"We know nothing of you, yet you seem to know everything about us." The Hyuuga seemed a little disturbed by this information, though he hid it well.

"I listen, you watch. That is the difference between us," I said simply. I turned my attention to TenTen. "I'm going for dango, are you joining me?"

"We should all go. That way we can get to know each other better," Lee suggested.

"That sound great," TenTen agreed.

"F-Fine with me. How about you, Hyuuga-san?" I cast a quick glance toward him, before returning it to the ground.

"Let's just go."

"Okay then!" Lee was excited as any new genin could be as he led the way to the dango shop.

I hung back with TenTen, nervous about lunch. _I had only meant lunch with TenTen. Now I have to hide it longer..._ I wrung my hands nervously. "TenTen-san, how am I going to do this?" I whined softly.

The weapon's master sighed heavily. "I don't know, Rai. If it comes up, you tell them at lunch. If not, tell them when we meet our sensei. Does that work?"

I nodded, sighing softly. "It'll have to."

At lunch, it never came up, much to my pleasure, and I learned quite a lot about my new teammates.

Lee had quite a lot of spirit, as I said earlier. His energy was like a three-year-old's, never ran out. He was a strong believer that he would someday be able to pass Hyuuga's skills, but the tone of his voice gave away that he didn't know how to do it.

Hyuuga was a quiet boy. If he spoke, it meant he wanted people to listen to him, and we did. Even though he mostly shot down what Lee was saying. But he asked why I was staring, once.

An odd side effect of my blindness: I don't blink often.

I merely averted my gaze to the table. "My apologies." I could feel his gaze on me for a while afterwards.

"We should be heading back. It's almost time for us to meet with our sensei," TenTen pointed out, standing up. The three of us followed her lead, tossing down money for our meals. The walk was short, back to the academy, and we arrived upon the classroom full of eager students, ready to begin their training.

The four of us headed to the back of the room, where TenTen and I usually sit. There was light chatter between Lee and the weapon's master, but Hyuuga and I were silent. I sat back in my chair, my arms crossed over my chest, eyes closed.

Teams came and left, soon it was only the four of us, waiting for our new sensei to arrive.

"Hello, the new power of youth!"

_This should be fun..._


	3. Enter: Maito Gai

"Hello the new power of youth!!" a new voice rang out.

I almost cringed at the sound but I managed to stop myself.

"Hello sensei!" Lee cried out. I heard no words from TenTen or Neji so I stayed silent as well. I received a weird vibe from this man.

"Follow me to the roof, my team!" our new sensei called, his voice booming, echoing throughout the room and in to the halls. I stood and followed TenTen closely, my footsteps silent as they had been trained to be.

The door to the roof banged open. Sensei had us sit on benches by the edge of the roof. "I think some introductions are in order. I'm Maito Gai."

"Hyuuga Neji."

"TenTen."

"Rock Lee."

"Kohana Rai."

Gai-sensei nodded and smiled. "From today, you are genin. I'd like to hear your goals, yes." He gestured for Neji to begin.

"I don't want to answer."

"I would like to become a strong ninja, like the legendary female ninja Tsunade-sama,” TenTen answered.

"Sensei!" Lee's voice was proud as he addressed our new teacher. I couldn't help but smile as he continued to speak. "Despite not using ninjutsu or genjutsu, I want to prove that you can become a splendid ninja! I'm devoting everything to that purpose!"

Neji scoffed. Just a small laugh, but mocking tone was heavy in every syllable of the laughter.

"Hey, you! What's so funny?!" The proud taijutsu user leapt from the bench, the hurt in his voice disguised by anger.

"You say you can't use ninjutsu and genjutsu. So how does that make you a ninja? I don't get it. Are you some kind of idiot?" It seemed to me that Hyuuga thought that Lee was a joke. From just listening to the way he spoke, the way he walked, he believed that having a Kekkei Genkai automatically placed you in a better position than someone like Lee, or TenTen, or me.

My smiled disappeared, and my eyes narrowed. I opened my mouth to stand up for the younger male, whose disappointment and hurt was radiating off of him in waves.

But before I could say anything, Gai spoke up, hope and pride in his voice, overshadowing Hyuuga's cruel words. "If you still have passion, not even something like that will hold you back. Heh, along with a good rival, if you give it your best, compete hard, and start improving, you'll definitely become a splendid ninja. However, it will still take some great effort."

Lee seemed to find this encouraging, as his step took on a new spirit as he sat down beside me again.

It was my turn now. The moment of truth; the time when my secret would be revealed. I didn't know if Gai-sensei would go to the Hokage straight after finding out. "I want to become a strong medical nin, like my mother. Despite my-" I trailed off, realizing I had said way too much. I could keep my secret longer, it would make things easier. I wouldn't be thrown out of the shinobi order.

"Despite your what?" Lee asked, curiosity dripping from every word.

I winced, my sightless gaze turned to my lap as I played with my hands, like I did whenever I was nervous. I could feel everyone's gaze on me. _I'm going to be in trouble. Maybe Father was correct; maybe I can never live up to the family name..._

I heard TenTen sigh. "They should know Rai. Do you want me to tell them?"

I shook my head, closing my eyes. "This is my task to do." I took a deep breath, calming down, trying to keep my voice from shaking, though I knew it would be impossible. "I want to become a great me-medic nin, like my mother. Despite my eyes; I'm blind." I bit my lip, waiting for the rude comments to begin. Waiting for the words that had haunted me since I was small. _"You're not good enough! You never will be!"_

"You're really blind? But you aced all of the classes!! You passed second next to Neji!!" Lee countered, as if trying to prove me wrong. I heard him stand up, his footsteps going back and forth in front of me.

I laughed slightly, finding this much more pleasing to hear than a disappointed voice. "I have to thank TenTen-san for that. She helped me learn to write again, read off all of the lessons to me, whispered hand signs to me. She's basically the reason I'm here right now," I explained.

"What about when we went for classes outside in the forest?"

"I have to thank TenTen-san again. She led me using chakra strings or fishing line when it was needed," I explained that one too. With some help from TenTen, I explained every scenario that Lee brought up.

It had been going on for a while when I heard Neji speak up. "How many fingers am I holding up?" He had slid closer to me, but we were far from touching. I raised my hand, slowly drawing closer to the warmth of his palm. I pressed my palm to his, which was much larger than mine, and smiled slightly as I decoded the answer.

"Three. Anything else?"

"What you said earlier, that you listen and I see, what did you mean?" Slight confusion was laced in his usually cold voice.

I smiled slightly, tilting my head in thought. "Say you're listening to a large band, made up of many instruments. Before they even begin to play, you're already judging them on what they wear; how shiny and well-cared-for their instruments are; if their facial expressions are nervous, or excited, or bored. So, when they actually begin to play, you already have an idea, an assumption, of how good they are going to be, what kinds of music they are going to play. Me? I couldn't tell you if all of them were about to cry, scream in excitement, or throw up. I can hear every shuffle of their feet, every ruffle of papers. I can't really judge on that. So, when they begin to play, I can really tell if they are good or not. Do you understand?" I licked my lips slightly, not used to speaking for so long.

"No, I don't. Why didn't Iruka, or the other senseis catch it? Couldn't they tell you were blind?" Now, instead of confusion, anger had been infused in to every word.

"Did you? Could you tell that I was blind? The only reason I passed the demonstrations was because I had seen all of the instructors before I lost my sight. The only reason I could clone myself was because I spent hours studying myself the night before, because I knew that the Bunshin no Jutsu was going to be the test. But tell me, could you tell I was blind?" I asked, my voice serious and calm.

The Hyuuga male was silent, though I could feel his glare burning in to my eyes.

"Amazing." I turned my head in the direction of Gai-sensei. "You will be a great ninja, Rai. You can notice things about any person or thing that not even a ninja with Neji-kun's sight can see. Use that to your advantage, and you could go as far as you possibly can."

I smiled at his words, pleased that he accepted me, even with my flaws. "Should I be expecting a summons to the Hokage's office this afternoon?" I asked, just wanting to be sure.

"Of course not! Why would you?" To Gai-sensei, it seemed like there was nothing wrong with what I was.

"I thought a blind nin was useless, and a danger to the village they protect. Iruka-sensei told us a story about a blind ninja from another village. He was captured and forced to give up all the secrets of his village." I stopped talking, not wanting to go on with the story.

"You will be a great asset to the team. Neji-kun will be our eyes, and you will be our ears." He sounded so sure of himself.

"All right."

"Now let's go, my team! I have a meeting with my rival today, and I'd like you four to watch."

"Of course, Gai-sensei." Lee was on his feet, and guessing from TenTen's giggle, doing something odd.

We were led to another roof, standing above Gai-sensei as another jounin appeared. I recognized this chakra, and smiled slightly as I listened to the conversation below us.

"Let's just get this over with," a bored voice drawled. I caught the sound of turning pages.

"We're tied at forty-eight wins. Who will take the lead with this battle?" Gai-sensei's voice was proud and confident.

There was a shuffle of paper and the second jounin spoke again. "Even if I refuse, it looks like it's no use. Well, it's my turn to choose the event, right?"

"Right, well, what should we do? A taijutsu competition? The one-hundred-meter dash?"

"Well then, let's go with Janken."

I raised an eyebrow, tilting my head slightly in confusion.

"Janken?" The way that my sensei said it proved I was not the only one that was confused.

"They say that luck comes with great power, right?" the jounin explained.

"Now I see."

A scoff came from beside me. "I don't know why, but, is Kakashi dealing with it this way so he doesn't have to fight?" Neji questioned.

A small smirk curled on my lips. _So I was correct. It is Kakashi. Long time no sense, Kashi-kun..._

"That's what it seems like, huh?" Lee answered.

"I'll never lose! If, by chance, I do, I'll run five hundred laps around Konoha village, on my hands, I promise!" Gai said his voice proud and triumphant.

The three genin beside me, and me, were confused by this promise. _It's completely impossible. Why on earth would he promise something like that?_

"There you go again, another impossible self-imposed rule." Kakashi's words proved I was not the only one thinking this.

"What an idiot. Can you even do something like that? He's just like a kid," Neji scoffed, crossing his arms.

"It's impossible. Your arms would be so strained and unable to bend correctly after the first few laps, if that. They aren’t made to support your body weight." I answered, my sightless eyes narrowing.

I could hear both of the jounins moving in to a position, which to me, would be normally used for fighting. The two of them gave a cry of _'janken'_ and rushed towards each other. It was quiet for a moment, and then a few words I could not hear were traded.

"Don't worry. I will keep my promise!" Gai cried.

"He lost," I said simply.

"What a waste of time. We could have been training," Neji scoffed.

I shook my head. "I'll see everyone tomorrow." With a slight wave, I leapt off the building, landing easily on my feet where Gai and Kakashi had been standing just a few moments ago.

"Well, well, well. Isn't it little Rai," a strong voice said from behind me. "You've grown up."

I glanced over my shoulder. "I suppose I have. Good night, Kashi-kun." I headed off toward the direction of my home, between the training fields and Hyuuga compounds.

"I thought I told you to stop calling me that." He was annoyed, but I could hear the smile in his voice.

"You did, but it was no order," I threw back with a smirk, disappearing in a rush of wind and flower petals before he could say anything else on the matter.


	4. First Training

Instead of heading home, I headed to the training grounds. I knew the trail well, almost too well. I stood in the middle of the field and pulled out my flute. It was simple, and metal, and one of the most precious things I owned. I played a piece that was taught to me a long time ago. It was called _Fantasia_.

Whenever I had heard this piece played, it would always inspire me to dance, and that's what I often did, but not tonight. I pushed chakra through the notes, creating an illusion. Birds formed from chakra flew in circles around me, streams of colors flowing from their wings as they flew in different patterns. Whenever the music tone changed, whenever I moved to a different movement, their patterns and colors would change, creating colorful, translucent curtains around me. I smiled through my playing.

The chakra veil was disturbed when someone passed through it. I tensed slightly, but kept playing, trying to focus on my surroundings, my playing, and my chakra at the same time. I felt the presence move closer to me, but slowly. It seemed this person, or thing, or whatever it was, was being cautious. I kept playing, keeping the illusion up until the presence was right behind me.

I dropped to the ground, whipping my leg around in a sweep kick, removing the legs of the presence from underneath it. The person dropped with a yell. My hand dove in to my kunai pouch before I recognized the chakra signature. "Hyuuga-san?"

My illusion had long since been destroyed as I pulled myself to my feet. I offered my hand to help up the Hyuuga, but he merely shoved it aside.

"What the hell was that for?"

"You scared me," I said carefully, crossing my arms, my smile slipping away. _I really don't feel like getting yelled at right now..._

"I don't believe I was being that quiet about it," he said, stiffly.

I shook my head, "When I'm casting illusions, with a flute that is, my mind has to focus on so many things at once, and I don't always realize who is around me. Everyone's the same to me."

I could feel his gaze on me, examining me. "All of that was an illusion?"

"Yes. Is it really that surprising? I know other illusions that are much more complicated." I could tell this surprised him. "I have to get home," I said softly and I started to make my way out of the training area. I could hear him following me closely. "Why are you following me?" I asked.

I heard him move up beside me. "I'm going home," he answered.

"The same way I am?" I asked.

"I live this way," he answered again. I nodded, accepting his answers. We continued in silence.

I could soon hear water running, the sound pulling me to a stop. "I live here."

"What's with the fountain and wind chimes?"

"So I can tell where I live." I opened the gate, the soft tinkling of a bell ringing. "I'll see you tomorrow Hyuuga-san-"

"Call me Neji."

I smiled slightly. "Good night, Neji-san."

"Good night, Rai." I disappeared in to the house.

~*~

I walked out of my house, heading to the training grounds. My mind was full to the brim; I wasn't really paying attention to where I was going. _What was Neji-san doing at the training grounds? Did he know I was there? How long was-_ "Ow! Oh, I’m so sorry!" I had bumped in to someone, not realizing where I was going.

"It's okay, Rai-chan."

"Lee-san? How far from the training grounds are we?"

"You're at the training grounds."

I blushed from embarrassment, my facial features growing very warm. "Sorry," I said softly.

"It's no trouble."

"Rai!" I turned to the female's voice.

"Hey TenTen-san. Do you know what Gai-sensei is having us do today?"

"I haven't a clue," she answered with a small laugh. I couldn't help but smile.

"You have a very pretty smile Rai-chan."

My eyes widened and my cheeks burned from Lee's comment. Now TenTen was really laughing. I grasped my flute from my pouch and she instantly stopped.

"Now Rai, let's be reasonable," she tried to deter me as she backed away. Now Lee was laughing and I heard laughter joining in. I recognized Gai and Neji's voices. Turning away from the others, I forced the blush on my cheeks to fade. Laughter hurt, more than they knew.

"Since you seem so willing to fight, how about sparring today?" I stayed silent as TenTen and Lee agreed. "So, we'll have a tournament, but first, we'll do our laps. One-hundred laps around the village, go!"

I shook my head, and took off, just behind TenTen. I was faster than her, but I needed someone to guide me in the right direction as my chakra helped the route through the trees appear. I heard someone pass us, going ahead, causing me to smile. _I can keep up with his speed._ "I'm following him, TenTen-san," I called as I dashed past her.

"See you at the finish line," she yelled after me.

I was already closing in on the Hyuuga, but I stayed just slightly behind him. After the first few laps, I would be able to go on my own, but for now, I needed some help.

"Aren't you supposed to be with TenTen?" he asked, calling over his shoulder.

"I can follow you too. I'm not limited to only one person."

"But why not stay with the person you trust?"

I smiled, the corners of my mouth curling. "I'm faster than her. It makes it somewhat difficult to follow her lead," I confessed.

The Hyuuga chuckled softly. "What makes you think you can keep up with me? You seem to be falling behind, even now."

It was my turn to laugh slightly. "I do not know this path well, meaning I have slow down a bit, and memorize it. This is not my quickest speed."

Silence greeted my words. "But you're a-"

"Genjutsu and medical jutsu specialist. I'm aware of my abilities. I might not do well when it comes to taijutsu, but I have been training since I was very young. I had to race someone of a much older age than I am, and win. More often than not, I would." Memories of the training I went through flooded back in to my conscious. I forced them back where they belonged, not wanting to go back to that point in time. That was when it didn’t matter if I won or lost, the result was the same.

After the tenth lap or so, I knew the path well enough to go up to full speed. I passed Neji, kicking off the tree hard, and slinging myself to the next one. _At this rate, I'll be done in an hour or so..._

Time flew by just as the rush of air around me. I was soon on my last lap. I had passed each of my teammates multiple times, and I was still going at full speed. I had never believed that his strict teaching methods would ever be of use to me. But, right now, I felt alive! My blood was singing through my veins, and I wasn't even that tired. As I slowed to a stop at the edge of the training field, I was thrown a water bottle. I caught it easily, guided by the sound of water sloshing. The plastic container was drained of its contents in the matter of seconds, and I tossed the bottle back to Gai-sensei.

"Very good, Rai. You did very well."

I smiled. "Thank you." I found a resting place at the base of a tree, and closed my eyes, dropping in to a semi-meditational state. That only means I'm still aware of people and happenings around me versus being turned totally inward.

Neji was the next to finish, about ten minutes after me, panting heavily. He took a seat under the same tree that I was under.

"Aren't you tired?"

I opened my eyes, breaking the trance. "Not really." I took a sip of a second water bottle, enjoying the way the cold water soothed my dry throat. "Only thirsty."

The older boy scoffed and I heard the sound of a draining water bottle.

"Try meditation."

There was the sound of a small choke. "What?"

I smiled slightly. "Try meditation. It makes both the mind and body stronger. That, along with practice, and you'll be able to keep up with me in no time."

The boy merely grunted. I shook my head and rearranged my limbs in to a full meditation position. My legs were crossed, my arms resting on top; with my head tipping forward slightly, my mind eased in to a full meditational state.

"Rai-chan!"

My head shot up, my eyes flashing open. "Yes?"

"Come on, were starting. Take my hand."

I reached upward, feeling the smooth skin of Lee's hand. With one easy motion, I was lifted up to my feet. "Thank you."

"Let's begin. Two rules: go all out, but don't kill each other. TenTen versus Lee. Rai versus Neji." We split in to our pairs and took our stances. **"** GO! **"**


	5. Inside The Home

"Let's begin. Two rules: go all out, but don't kill each other. TenTen versus Lee. Rai versus Neji." We split in to our pairs and took our stances. Neji was in his standard Juuken posture, with his weight on his back leg. I stood perfectly straight, my arms crossed over my chest, my eyes closed. **"** GO! **"** Gai cried.

I could hear no movement from Neji. He was waiting for me to make the first move.

_I'm no good at taijutsu, and I don't want to reveal all of my techniques. He knows I'm fast; he knows I can cast illusions. My medical jutsu attacks could kill him. Guess illusion it is..._

I shifted my right foot slightly, getting more traction with the ground. I passed a thin layer of chakra through the sole of my foot, spreading it along the ground. This would give me a better idea of his movements.

"Attack already," he snapped, impatient with my immobility.

I smiled slightly. "Aren't you able to make the first move?"

"If you're not going to attack, then forfeit. It will save you the humiliation of being defeated."

I giggled softly. "So cold, Neji-san." I shifted myself in to a lower stance, keeping my balance while getting closer to the ground. "I can already out run you. I believe I can beat you as well." I pulled the metal flute from where it was hidden in my obi. I softly began to play.

This illusion was different from the one he had seen yesterday. This one was a lot calmer. I smiled slightly against the metal of the flute. _If he continues to listen to it, he'll be asleep within a few moments..._

I felt his stance relax as the song forced his mind to believe he was completely and utterly physically exhausted. I heard a thud as his body hit the ground. I giggled slightly, breaking the tune.

_I have to hurry, or he'll wake up before I'm through..._ I pulled some thin rope from the pack on my hip. A few easy knots, and there was no way that Neji was going to get to his feet easily.

I sat down against the tree, beginning to play again, but not making an illusion; just playing for fun.

He woke up slowly, and it took him a moment to realize that he was unable to move.

It must have left his mind that he could just use Nawanuke no Jutsu to get himself free.

"Excellent job, Rai-chan!" Gai cried, as Neji finally managed to get himself free. "Winner, Rai!"

I giggled slightly, breaking off my tune.

I could feel the Hyuuga's glare burning a hole in to my eyes.

"And you said I would lose," I reminded him. I turned my attention to the sounds to Lee and TenTen's fight. They were still in the middle of their battle, but from the sound of it, Lee was having trouble getting close enough to TenTen to actually do any harm.

My head jerked up at the sound of a yell and I felt a body landing hard on the ground. I was on my feet within moments and quickly moving toward my fallen comrade. "Lee-san, please sit still. TenTen-san, is he hurt?" I asked, trying to keep him from hurting himself even more.

"He has some gashes on his arms, cut on his cheek and a deep wound on his stomach," she answered. I could tell she felt a bit guilty about harming him

I nodded. I performed a series of well-known hand seals. "Hayai Chiyu no Jutsu." I placed my hands over his arms, chakra flowing from them in to his wounds, healing the on gash on his stomach as well. Soon, only the cut on his cheek remained.

He jumped to his feet, leaving me on the ground, panting slightly. I heard him hopping up and down, challenging Neji to a fight.

I heard a few thuds, a couple yelps and grunts, then the sound of a body hitting the ground. "Is he wounded again?"

"Yes."

I sighed. "Lee-san, could you please come here?" I felt him sit in front of me. My fingertips expertly scanned over his flesh, searching for wounds.

"None of them are visible Rai," TenTen told me.

I nodded. I repeated the same seals as before. "Hayai Chiyu no Jutsu." My hands were on his chest, healing the unseen wounds. His breathing changed from ragged and shallow to smooth and even. My hands fell from him, to my sides. Sweat broke out on my forehead and trickled down my nose. My breath came in pants. I staggered to my feet, my legs threatening to give out. _Okay Rai, some tea, an hour of meditation, and you'll be right as rain,_ I told myself. I turned to our sensei. "Gai-sensei, could I please head home?"

"Of course, my youthful student. Training is over!" With that, he disappeared in a puff of smoke.

Of course, then my legs decided to give out. I caught myself before my face was buried in the grass, my arms struggling to keep my weight up.

"Rai!" TenTen rushed to me, helping me stand. "If you were low on chakra, why did you heal him?" She pulled my arm over her shoulders to take some weight off my weary legs.

I gave her a small smile. "Because it is my duty," I explained, my voice soft, wavering almost.

She started to lead me home before my heavy, uneven footsteps and weight threw us off balance. TenTen managed to catch herself before we hit the ground. A pair of strong hands caught me, arms sliding around my waist, pulling me against a warm body.

"Who-?"

"Me." It was Neji.

A faint blush tainted my usually pale cheeks. "Th-thank you." He set me free from his hold, but kept a strong arm around my waist keeping me from falling again.

TenTen came and took my other side, keeping me balanced between the two of them. "To the garden, Rai?" she asked. I nodded slightly, closing my eyes, allowing myself to slip in to a half-meditational state. From his aura, I could sense Neji was confused.

The two of them helped me home. I could soon hear the sound of wind chimes and the soft gurgling of the fountain. TenTen opened the gate, the bell tinkling softly. I was led in to the backyard, which was full of sweet-smelling flowers. In the back was a small arbor, a slab of stone underneath with a few candles. I was lowered down on to the rock.

I smiled softly, keeping my eyes closed. "Lee followed us. If you don't mind hanging out for a half hour or so, I'll gladly make everyone dinner."

"Sounds good to me," TenTen chirped.

"Yeah!" came Lee's cry from behind my two other teammates.

"Fine." The Hyuuga didn't sound as thrilled.

I giggled softly.

~*~

The three genin headed inside the small home, leaving the blind girl to her meditation.

The home was well cared for, two bedrooms, one bath. The wall corners had been filed down in to curves, allowing no excuse for injury. Tables and flat surfaces had long plants, mostly ivy to allow the sightless Kohana to be able to feel if she was about to run in to a piece of furniture. The chairs and couches were over-stuffed and cushioned well. It was a sanctuary for her, a place where she didn't have to hide her sightless ways.

The two males and the female, the latter having visited before, made themselves comfortable in the living room, which was the first room they came upon. Just off the room, was an open doorway heading in to the kitchen. Off the back of the room, were two hallways: one to the left, and one to the right. Down each hallway were two doors right across from each other. All the doors were shut tight. The curious taijutsu-specialist pushed open the first door in the left hallway, revealing a bedroom. The large bed and photos of young children gave away that this was her parents' bedroom.

The thing that was strange was that everything was coated in dust.

"What's going on?"

"It looks like no one has been in here in years." TenTen wiped a bit of dust from the dresser next to the door. She and the third teammate had followed when they had heard Lee’s question.

"Have you ever seen her family?" the male Hyuuga asked, stepping into the room.

The lone female shook her head. "Rai always said that her parents and brother were out on missions."

"Odd." The taijutsu student headed for the other door at this end of the hall. A bathroom, neat as a pin.

The other hallway, two doors. The first one led to a room, the walls stacked with scrolls of all sizes; from as thin as a pencil, to ones so big you could barely lift them. Like the last room, it was covered with a thick layer of dust.

"A reading room?"

The Hyuuga scanned the names of a few of the scrolls, noticing his teammates hadn't followed him inside the room. " _Curse Seals_ , _Meditation_ , and _Sealing and Unsealing_ ; it seems to me that the Kohana clan specializes in seals. _Seals of Kohana_." The male pulled the large scroll off of its shelf, opening it on the table in the center of the room. His careful eyes scanned down the list of the seals the scroll contained. "It says here that the Kohana originally created the Caged Bird Seal, but it was adapted to the Hyuuga ways," he muttered to himself. _It also says that Kohana blood came make the seal more powerful, or make it easier to remove it..._

The three genin headed to the final room. The door swung open to reveal a young girl's bedroom. The walls were a lavender color, broken up by a scattering of posters of famous ninja. In the corner was a desk with a few shelves above it. The shelves were cluttered with pictures, all of them with the same man, woman, boy and girl. The boy and man looked almost exactly alike, same with the woman and girl, except the girl and man had the same eyes, just different shades; the woman and boy had the same shade of green eyes. The girl's eyes were such a dark blue, they were almost black; the man's blue eyes were a lighter color, a lot lighter.

"Her family," the female breathed.

A quick scan of the photos revealed that the latest one had been taken just over five years ago, but none later.

"That's probably when her family became really busy," the weapons-master suggested.

"I believe it's a little different from that." Pale lavender eyes scanned closely at the photographs.

Footsteps were heard outside the window, in the backyard.

"She's coming. Come on." The three genin headed back in to the living room, resting in various places when the front door opened.

~*~

"Sorry about the wait," I said softly, my hand behind my head in embarrassment. "So, what would you like to have for dinner?"

"Hey, Rai? Would you be up for making-?"

"Chicken teriyaki, coming up." I gave a small smile before heading in to the kitchen.

"Rai-chan, allow me to help you."

"Thank you, Lee-san. I'd be grateful if you did so."

It wasn't long before rice and teriyaki chicken were laid out on the kitchen table for everyone to eat. It was delicious, some of the best I had ever made.

"Hey, Rai-chan, can I ask you something?"

"Hm?"

"Why does this house feel so deserted?"

Chopsticks clattered to the table before rolling off on to the floor.

"Wh-what are you t-talking about? My h-home is f-fine."

"But it feels so empty. Why?"

"Just, stop, please. I don't want to go back," I murmured, slowly wrapping my arms around myself, noticing that my body was quaking.

"Rai, we'll see you tomorrow, okay?" TenTen said softly.

I nodded, shakily.

I heard the front door open and close, my three teammates leaving.

_Why, Brother Why did you do it?_


	6. Danger of Genjutsu

Six months have passed quickly. It's been a flurry of missions and training. I've become stronger, taught myself a few more genjutsu, and have become stronger at controlling another's mind with a simple tune. My eyes are now hidden behind a few binds of cloth, allowing me an excuse for when I screw up, which has happened before.

I sighed slightly, listening to Lee's latest challenge to Neji. As usual there were a few thuds then the feeling of a body hitting the ground. Lee and TenTen started arguing and soon Neji was brought in to the fight. I brought my flute up to my lips, letting out a slow breath. Soft, careful notes flew through the clearing, engulfing my teammates.

The three of them soon ceased talking, their minds being lulled by the melody and fell over, fast asleep. As long as I played that song, they would stay asleep.

Inside I was laughing. I don't know how many times I had told them to plug their ears when they heard me. Only I knew what effect it would have on them.

I heard crashing in the bushes, a sign that alerted me to a person coming closer; I instantly stopped playing and I heard the sounds of the others waking up. I whistled imitating a sparrow, a sign we had worked out. We found that I usually heard things before them so we found a way for me to let them know without alerting enemies.

I recognized the sound of kunais being drawn. They were wide-awake now.

The chakra signature came in to range, and I instantly recognized it. _So we meet again..._ The crashing of bushes was getting closer. I swiftly and silently dashed up the tree, my senses taking in all the sounds and smells around me. The chakra was directly below me when I dropped down. It was a grown man as I hung off his neck, my kunai at his jugular vein. "Got you."

He chuckled. "So you did."

My smile grew slightly as I dropped off of him, landing easily and replacing my kunai in the pouch on my left leg. I headed toward my teammates, a slight bounce in my step.

"Hey, Kakashi! What are you doing here?" Gai called, having just entered the clearing.

"I came to see your students. Looks like the small one is pretty good. The three down here seem like they could use some work." I stayed silent as I heard my teammates growl.

"My youthful students! Come meet my eternal rival, Hatake Kakashi."

The four of us lined up, bowing respectfully.

"Hyuuga Neji."

"Rock Lee."

"Kohana Rai."

"TenTen." We spoke our names.

"Rai-chan, how is Towa? He hasn't been to any meetings lately. Have you seen him?"

I stiffened visibly. "I am not aware of my brother's whereabouts. He has barely been home for a while now," I answered. My jaw tightened at the thought of bad memories. I heard the man chuckle.

"How about this Kakashi? A little tournament, for my students. Care to watch?"

"I'd like to see how they do."

"Students! Pair up! First fight, Kakashi, you pick the pairs."

"The two girls." I walked to the center of the field. I could hear TenTen following me. I crossed my arms, waiting for the signal. "Fight."

I pulled my flute from my pack. Raising it to my lips, I started to play _Endless Love_.

TenTen's eyes widened and she plugged her ears. It's weird how I can tell, isn't it. I don't know how I do it, so no chance of letting you in on my secret. Holding my flute between my teeth, I did a few hand signs, creating a few shadow clones. I crouched down behind the fake ones and teleported soundlessly, ending up a few trees away. TenTen had her hands full with the multiple clones, dodging kicks and punches, as I started to play, the same song as before, just soft enough for it not to be noticed yet loud enough to reach her mind. I heard her stagger and she dropped her knees in a trance. I released the clone jutsu, the copies disappearing in a small poof, and hopped out of the tree, pulling a kunai from my pouch. With the fighting tool at her throat, I released the trance. She looked around, confused.

"Fight over! Winner, Rai!" Gai cried.

I walked over to the two senseis and sat down at the base of a tree behind them, TenTen sat beside me.

"Was I too rough?"

"Not at all. I should have noticed when you started playing. That was my downfall." I smiled slightly, the noises of Neji's and Lee's sparring in the background.

"Winner, Neji!" I sighed slightly and stood, walking out in to the field to face Neji. My arms were crossed, my eyes closed behind the cloth. "Fight!"

I pulled my flute from my ninja pack, but Neji wasn't going to give me a chance to use it. A volley of shuriken came at me. I could hear the wind whistling around them and executed a couple of back flips to avoid being hit. I stopped momentarily only to have to bend backwards to avoid a few kunai. As I rose to my feet, I was met with a fist to my stomach. My breath left me in a slight whimper and hiss. I buckled, my body folding around his fist. I pulled a kunai from my pouch and swiped at him. I felt it hit flesh. It had ended up stabbing through his hand. That gave me enough of a time space to leap away and bring my flute to my lips. A very quick piece that took a very long time for me to perfect, it would reveal a person’s true desire, but turn in to what they are most afraid of.

If I could have seen what the two sensei's were seeing, I would see Neji with a pleasant smirk on his features, standing comfortably, looking upon the ground; before whatever he was seeing caused that causal look to turn to one of absolute horror.

I never heard TenTen yelling. I never sensed her moving toward me. I did feel a sting on my cheek and my flute flying from my hands.

"Rai! You almost killed him!"

My features tightened, an emotionless facade concealing me, or so I thought. But within, I was far from emotionless. A single tear slid down my stinging cheek. With a whirl of wind and petals, I disappeared from sight.

~*~

The instant the weapon's master finished yelling, she regretted it. The way the blind girl had looked - even with the bindings over her pale eyes, sightless eyes - she was scared. Rai was _never_ scared. It was practically impossible to scare the girl.

TenTen picked up her flute, which had come to rest a few feet away, then turned to Neji. He was shaking violently, his eyes wide and staring at nothing, seeming to absorb nothing from his surroundings. His teammates had watched him go into convulsions, shock, close to going into a life-threatening seizure. It wasn't right to have yelled at Rai, there was no way she could have known. And now, there was no way of finding her. The lone female sighed deeply, wondering how on Earth she was going to make this up to her.

Neji stumbled to his feet, "What was that?" His voice was breathless, weak.

"An illusion. One of the harshest she knows." The brunette's voice was quiet, soft. She turned to her teacher and his friend. "Gai-sensei, please allow me to find her," she requested, her voice forced, cracking, her body bending in to a deep bow.

"Of course. Your mission for today is to find our comrade. Good luck to you all." With that, the jump-suited man and Kakashi disappeared. The female turned to her comrades, who were looking at her, waiting for some hint to where the blind girl was hiding from the world.

A soft sigh escaped TenTen. "I don't know where she is. We'll have to comb the village," she told them, not liking the slim odds of finding her before nightfall. They nodded and went off in their separate directions.

~*~

I was sitting in a flowering sakura tree, one of the last ones in the village. Even when I was little, I loved to play in the falling petals, dancing. Mother had always joined me after watching me for a while, saying she couldn't help herself.

I could still remember what they looked like, the brightest shade of pink, and the soft petals of each flower. I felt a flower land on my hand. I gently picked it up, bringing to my face to smell the sweet fragrance.

I sighed, allowing the fragile flower to fall to the ground. _They're never going to forgive me. I almost killed him. But I would never-_

"Rai-chan! Where are you?!" I pressed myself against the tree trunk to avoid Lee's gaze. I felt tears slipping down my cheeks, soaking the cloth over my eyes. I hadn't noticed them before.

The branch bent in front of me. "Rai-chan." I pulled my knees up to my chest and wrapped my arms around them, my face buried. I felt two hands on my shoulders. One moved behind my head and untied the cloth, causing it to fall towards the ground. "Look at me." I opened my eyes and turned my sightless gaze to him. "It was an accident. No one is mad at you," he told me softly.

"Lee-san, I almost killed Neji-san. How can I be forgiven? Tell me!" He was silent. I interpreted the silence in the worst way. "I thought so."

I leapt out of the tree, leaving him standing there, watching me as I disappeared again.


	7. History is Beginning to Be Revealed

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Trigger Warning: Talk about past abuse.

The blind girl's teammates had combed most of the village for Rai. Only Lee had seen her but she disappeared again. TenTen went to check her house again. Lee was searching the square. Neji was meandering, his Byakugan activated, searching for any signs of her. The cloth that usually covered her eyes was in his hand, still slightly damp from her tears.

His ears caught the sound of crying, echoing down the hill. Focusing on the origin of the sounds, he found what he was looking for. Rai was in the graveyard, sitting against a gravestone, crying. No, sobbing. _It upset her that much? It shouldn't have._ He made his decision and headed into the graveyard.

~*~

I followed the route I had memorized. It led through the graveyard and stopped a little ways away from the other graves. This place, the final resting place of my parents, was almost like a sanctuary to me. I collapsed against the hard granite, sobs wracking my body. "I'm sorry, Mother… Father. I'm sorry. I went against your wishes. I almost killed him. I know I shouldn't have used that jutsu. I'm sorry."

"You should stop apologizing."

I jumped and tried to scramble backwards, but I ran in to the double tombstone. "Ne-Neji-san," I whispered, stuttering slightly. I covered my head with my arms, in hope from some protection from the blows I believed would soon be raining down on me. "I'm sorry. I'm sorry," I murmured over and over again.

"It was an accident. There is no need to be forgiven." He sounded so casual about it. But he didn't know the number of rules I had broken.

"No, no, no! I should be begging for forgiveness. I should be in as much pain as I had caused you." I bowed at his feet, my forehead on the ground. "Punish me how you will," I choked out.

This was my father’s teaching. The Kohana clan was very strict when it came to women. Women were below men. Always have been. Multiple times I've gotten a cane whipped across my back, leaving deep welts that left scars. They were still visible on my back. My shoulders had burn scars on them. My legs had scars from kunai and shuriken. The scars were fading, but they were still there, hidden beneath cloth.

Father hadn't wanted me to join the ninja academy. Mother convinced him. She was part of the Sumi clan, she had taught me most of my ninjutsu. But she knew I wasn't meant to kill people. That was to be left to my teammates.

A hand grabbed my arm, pulling me roughly to my feet. "Fate gives you no forgiveness. None is needed. So stop embarrassing yourself," he snapped. I sniffed, gently wiping the tears away.

I turned from him, facing the graves. "I will visit soon, Mother, Father," I spoke to the stones softly.

Neji's aura gave away that he was confused, but if it showed, I didn't know. I felt something slide over my eyes and tied behind my head. "Thank you," I said softly, adjusting the moist cloth slightly, allowing it to settle back into place.

"We were going to meet at your house to report if we had found you. Whoever did was supposed to bring you. Come on." I nodded, falling in to step a pace behind and a pace to the side.

The walk seemed twice as long as it usually did. The silence between us was thick, only broken by soft footsteps from the two of us. I wanted so bad just to say something stupid so he would yell at me and at least keep the silence from progressing.

I was just about to speak when another's voice rang out.

"Rai! You're safe!" I felt two arms capture me in a hug and lift me off the ground. I stayed silent as TenTen placed me back on the ground.

"I'm sorry about all the trouble I have caused today. And I apologize again to you, Neji-san, for nearly causing your demise. I will see everyone tomorrow for the mission," I bid them, disappearing in to the house.

~*~

The three genin watched the pale-eyed girl disappear in to her home. She was still afraid; everyone could see it.

Neji turned to the others. "She's an orphan. She had run to her parents graves," he told them. TenTen's eyes widened. Neji continued, "She kept trying to beg for forgiveness; saying _'punish me how you will'_. It was like she was used to it. Do you know what her past was like?"

TenTen shook her head. "I've only known her for the past two and a half years at the academy. She was already blind."

"Did anyone know her before the academy?"

She shrugged. "Most likely not. Her parents were both ANBU."

"Didn't Kakashi-sensei say something about her having a brother?"

"That's true."

The blind girl intrigued Neji. He wanted to know all about her.


	8. What's Going On?

**Beep. Beep. Beep. Bee-**

I clicked the alarm off, sitting up. I slipped off the couch, where I slept every night. I never slept in my room anymore. There were too many bad memories carved in to those walls, to be there for eternity.

A quick shower, dress, pack, make a few lunches and breakfast, and I was out the door. We were meeting at the gate at five o’clock; it was about 4:30.

I enjoyed walking while there was no one around, while quiet was settled throughout the entire village. Before parents woke up and headed to work; before children awakened and dashed through streets, making it harder for me to navigate on my own. My almost silent footsteps caused the tiniest echoes to ring off the nearby buildings. Only a blind person, with their heightened sense of hearing, or someone with the very highest ability to enhance their hearing abilities, could hear the tiny sounds.

I let a soft sigh slip through my lips, closing my eyes as I continued down the memorized path.

A soft whine.

I stopped, feeling something soft, yet dirty run under my hand. I kneeled down and heard another whine.

A dog.

I smiled slightly, gently petting the animal's head. "You must be hungry," I said softly.

Another whine.

I slipped my backpack off, placing it on the ground beside me. A few moments of rooting through its contents revealed I had a few extra pieces of dried meat stashed away for the journey ahead. "I'm sure I can spare a few." I lay the pieces on the ground.

A few sounds of chomping and chewing, and the meat was gone.

I smiled and pat the dog, feeling it run its tongue on my cheek in a few licks. I let out a short giggle before standing up. "Bye now."

He padded off, and I continued on my way.

I sat against the gate, when I arrived, seeing as no one else was there. I allowed my eyes to close, waiting for the others to arrive.

Heavy footsteps, but quick. Rock Lee.

Slower paced, lighter, female. TenTen.

Careful, quiet, almost sharp. Hyuuga Neji.

With a small poof and a quick breeze, our sensei appeared. "Rai! My youthful pupil, you are safe! I'm glad to see our mission was a success. Now, let's not burn our light! Ready?" There was a round of sleepy mutters, mostly around the idea of more sleep. "Okay, everyone, let's go!"

"Yes sir!"

I stood up, stretching slightly and tightening the bandages around my eyes. We were sticking to the paths today, and it would be easier to follow the group than if we had traveled through the trees.

We walked for hours; the heat of the sun had long disappeared before we stopped, the fact that none of us had food in our stomach to provide calories with that much walking was taking a strain on everyone.

I pulled the food I had prepared from my bag, thankful it was still warm in the boxes. "I made dinner. I hope it is okay." I held out the stack of food and felt them leave my hands one at a time, until there was one left for me.

Dinner was silent, other than the tapping of chopsticks. "The boxes, feel free to leave them. I have plenty," I said quietly. Everyone one was silent. Even Lee and Gai weren't talking. I was very confused. This wasn't their normal behavior.

"Is something wrong with the food?" I asked softly. It had tasted fine to me, but I wasn't sure.

"No, no. It's great Rai. Thank you," TenTen said hurriedly.

I sighed, "Something is wrong. Please tell me." I had learned to pick up even the subtlest sign in someone's voice, hinting that something was wrong. No one spoke. I sighed again and stood. "I'm going to collect water." I picked up the water bag and headed off in to the woods, towards the sound of running water.

I felt the water lap at my toes as I stood on the bank. I bent down and started filling the bag. I corked it when it was full and looped it over my shoulder.

A hand slapped over my mouth. "Well, well, well. What do we have here? A little leaf genin, how cute."


	9. Orders

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Trigger Warning: Talk of possible abuse. Slight, but I'd rather put the warning up.

I felt the water lap at my toes as I stood on the bank. I bent down and started filling the bag. I corked it when it was full and looped it over my shoulder.

A hand slapped over my mouth. "Well, well, well. What do we have here? A little leaf genin, how cute." Another hand was holding both of mine behind my back. I felt stupid that I hadn't heard him, or sensed him. I should have been paying attention to my surroundings. _Idiot! You idiot!_ I yelled at myself.

I did the only thing I could think of. I bit down on the man's hand. As soon as he pulled it away, I slammed my right foot in to the side of his right kneecap. He let out a yell, going down, releasing me in the process. I crashed to my knees, but was up as soon as possible.

A strong hand wrapped around my wrist, an arm around my waist. He twisted my arm and gave a harsh pull, causing an inferior dislocation. Pain tore up my arm like a fire in the dry season. A pained scream was ripped from my throat, echoing throughout the woods.

A chuckle came from just next to my ear. "Hurts, doesn't it?" He tugged on the arm that hung limply at my side.

Tears of pain created paths down my cheeks. "Let me go," I whispered.

Crashing in the bushes, headed our way.

"Rai!"

The man chuckled again, as if he was pleased someone had come after me. "Oh, you are talking to her? Eh, my little Rai-chan?" I felt his warm, and smelly, breath wash over my cheek. It was hard for me to control my gag reflex as I wrenched my head away.

"Can't she just disappear?" Lee asked of the others.

"No," TenTen answered, her voice grave, "She can't while he's still touching her."

"So we just have to get him to let go of her."

"Yes."

He tugged on my arm, pulling another pained scream from my lips. "Pay attention or I'll kill her along with the rest of you."

"Why go after her?" Gai-sensei asked of the man.

A low chuckle sounded in my ear. "I've been looking for someone that could fulfill my needs. This little one, I'm sure, is more than capable." That hand that had been holding my limp arm moved. It was now sliding up my thigh, dragging closer and closer to my hip.

All of a sudden, he dropped me. I scrambled to my feet, heading toward my teammates as I heard several thuds behind me, one of them including the sound of metal slicing flesh. Cradling my hurt arm, I sought the safety of my friends.

"Neji, grab-"

"Not so fast!"

A strong hand wrapped tightly around my ankle, bringing me crashing to the ground. I let out a sharp cry as I landed on my dislocated arm.

"Rai!"

I was tired of being thrown around by this guy. With strength I didn't know I had, I wrenched my ankle out of his grip, aimed, and landed a sharp kick to his head. He flew to the side as I scrambled to my feet once more.

I finally made it to the comfort and security of being among my teammates.

The man stood up again, but he was unsteady on his feet. "You dumb bitch. You're mine now. You should be on your knees, begging for forgiveness. Bow down," he growled.

I refused the order, still standing. My stomach twisted and a sick feeling rose. Pain shot up my spine, forcing me to bend forward.

"Please," I begged, "Don't make me."

My teammates were staring, more confused than they could ever remember.

"Is she actually bowing?" Lee asked, his voice just above a whisper.

I crashed to my knees, my limp arm at my side. My forehead was in the dirt, basically in the fetal position. "Make it stop," I whined. The pain ceased, seeing as I was kind of bowing.

I could tell the man was confused as well, as if he really didn't expect me to bow.

"Neji, get her out of here," Gai-sensei ordered.

A strong hand grabbed my dislocated arm, pulling another pained scream from my throat. He let me drop, not knowing why I had cried out.

"Neji!" Gai's voice was harsh.

Two arms scooped me up, and a new wave of pain shot up my spine. The man hadn't told me to stand yet, so the order hadn't been released. I wasn't allowed to leave.

More tears of pain coursed down my cheeks, my eyes becoming red and slightly swollen.

I was placed on a sleeping bag. I instantly rolled on to my knees, my good arm pressing on my stomach, as if to try and quell the pain in any amount.

"Rai, what's going on?" Neji is the type of person that wouldn't ask unless he really wanted to know. Right now, he was exponentially confused.

"Tell me I can stop bowing, please, just say it," I begged.

"Enough bowing," he ordered, his voice heavily confused.

I sighed in relief, thanking God that the pain was over. My stomach was still sore, but it was not as painful.

I was shoved on to my back and my kimono was being pulled open. I freaked, to say it plainly. My good hand was shoving his away.

It wasn't even a moment, before he had pinned me to the ground, sitting on my thighs, one hand pinning my good hand, the other on my sternum. "You will let me. You are in pain, and I will find the source. Now sit still and let me," he growled, the orders sounding like threats.

I fell silent, tears still falling.

My kimono was opened, revealing the bandaging wrapped around my chest, stopping just below my breasts. Just below, black markings circled my navel, going up to my ribs.

"A seal."


	10. Obedience

I was shoved on to my back and kimono was being pulled open. I freaked, to say it plainly. My good hand was shoving Neji's away.

It wasn't even a moment, before he had pinned me to the ground, sitting on my thighs, one hand pinning my good hand, the other on my sternum. "You will let me. You are in pain, and I will find the source. Now sit still and let me," he growled, the orders sounding like threats.

I fell silent, tears still falling.

My kimono was opened, revealing the bandaging wrapped around my chest, stopping just below my breasts. Just below, black markings circled my navel, going up to my ribs.

"A seal."

"Neji, what are you doing?" TenTen's voice was high-pitched, confused.

"I found out what caused her so much pain."

I could feel TenTen's gaze boring in to the side of my face. Seeing the tears that still streaked from under the bindings that wrapped around my eyes. She took slow careful steps toward us, as if scared of what she would find. A heard a gasp escape her lips, and she dropped to her knees beside us. "N-Neji, the only other person carrying a seal like this on is that Naruto kid. And he-"

"Shut up," he snapped.

He released me and I instantly pulled my kimono closed, having issues from only being able to move one arm.

"Rai, what's up with your arm?"

I shook my head. I grasped my arm, and tried to move it back in to place. I bit my lip to keep from crying out. I couldn't replace the head of the humerus myself. I also couldn't heal it until it was back in place.

"Rai-chan?"

I turned my head in Lee’s direction.

"Do you need help?" I nodded. He sat beside me, two hands grasping my arm, and carefully moved it upward in the wrong direction.

I couldn't help but cry out as he missed the socket. My dislocation now was no longer an inferior dislocation, but a posterior. That meant instead of the head of the humorous below the socket the head was behind it, creating a large lump on the back of my shoulder.

Lee was shoved out of the way and someone else took his seat. I couldn't help but jump as his hands touched the swollen upper arm. I bit down on my lip as he gently maneuvered back in to place. There was a small pop, and the majority of the pain disappeared. I gave a sigh of relief and a nod of thanks to Neji.

Careful not to move the sore arm too much, I formed a few hand seals. A familiar healing glow came to my hand, and I gently placed it on the swollen shoulder. Swelling went down, and the bruising started to fade as the overly strained muscles were healed. A few minutes later, I pulled my hand away and rotated my shoulder slowly, to make sure it was back correctly.

"Now, Rai-chan, you have quite a bit of explaining to do."

I cringed at the sound of my sensei's voice. "Of course, sir." I simply allowed my kimono to fall open, exposing the black markings on my stomach.

"I've had this seal as far back as I can remember. I was told it is simply an Obedience Seal, but I know that's not true. A few months before I lost my sense of sight, I was in the reading room, studying my seals, and I found a picture of the seal. The Obedience Seal is simply two diagonal lines with two small dots on either side. I tried to research mine, but was not able to find anything on it. It does have the curse of total obedience with in it, though. So whenever an order is directed toward me, even if it is not a literal one, it forces me to obey."

"Wait, you are forced to do anything you are ordered to?" Lee questioned.

"Correct."

"And if you don't?"

"The seal burns, sends pain toward whatever part of my body I need to move to do as told."

"So, when that Rock Nin, the guy back there, told you to bow, it made your back hurt?"

"Correct."

"So, if I told you to do a one-handed handstand, you would have to do it."

"Correct." During all of this talking, I had been retying my kimono and obi, not exactly comfortable being only in bandages and extremely short shorts, other than the tall socks I wore to cover the scars.

"If you resisted?"

"My legs, arms, back, most of my body would hurt, and the seal would burn. I'd start sweating, crying."

"Do a one-handed handstand."

I immediately refused in my mind. The seal burned, causing me to buckle forward. My arms became like lead weights, dragging themselves toward the ground.

I knew that my body was not holding up against the strain of the seal. It had been activated three times already within a half-hour. My body was far from being strong enough to hold up against the seal well.

I flipped myself on to my hands, balancing myself, first on two hands, the shifting to one.

"Cool!" Lee exclaimed. "Now, go in to the splits, flat."

I was so tempted to refuse, but knew I couldn't stand up to the pain right now. I balanced myself on two hands again, then flipped myself to my feet, instantly sliding in to a flat split.

"Now touch your toes to your head."

I refused, but instantly gave in once the pain shot up my legs. I rolled on to my stomach, pushing myself up much like a seal does, bending back and my legs up, touching my toes to my head.

"Now three back-hand-springs!"

I refused, my body was so worn down, and I couldn't even push myself to my feet. I collapsed on to my side, curling my body in to the fetal position. "I-I can't," I stuttered. "I-I can't."

"You don't have to do it," Neji said quickly.

The pain let up, but I didn't dare move. I was panting like I had been chased a thousand kilometers. Sweat dampened my hair, and fresh tears wet the cloth around my eyes.

"I’m sorry, but I'm not strong enough. I'm n-not strong enough," I said in between pants.

Heavy footsteps made their way closer to me, stopping at my side. Gai-sensei kneeled beside my fallen form. He simply placed a hand on my head, in a comforting way. "Then rest."

I gave a slight nod, and my eyes slid shut. My mind welcomed unconsciousness.

~*~

Within a few seconds, the youngest of the five was out cold, and there were no means that could wake her from her slumber.

Their sensei, despite how deep of a sleep she was in, carefully picked her up, and moved her to her rolled open sleeping bag. TenTen, having the foresight to do so as their teacher picked up their comrade, unzipped it, then re-zipped it as the blind girl was placed within it.

The four still awake gathered around the fire to converse about the information that had received on their comrade.

"It's too dangerous for Rai to be a ninja. She's blind, under an obedience seal, and who knows what else," the white-eyed male said, casting a quick glance at his sleeping comrade.

"She has figured out ways to get around some orders, I know that. She's not stupid, Neji, no matter how much you believe it, she's not. She just has problems that no else ever really had to do with. She would never betray the village, even if it cost her life," TenTen said, unable to stand hearing such things said about her friend.

"We have to go the Hokage about this. We don't really have a choice," Lee added, his voice thick with sadness.

The eldest of the group looked toward the sleeping girl. "She doesn't deserve to have the life she's wanted to have taken completely away from her. No one does. She's managed to hide from everyone for a long time now, and I believe she could make it, if we figured out a way around the obedience seal."

A dark thought suddenly struck TenTen. "But sensei, what happens if, even jokingly, someone tells Rai to just go and kill herself?"

"Then one of you, or myself, will have to stop her."

"I believe this brings a need to do more research in to these dead parents and missing brother," Neji said, his eyes locked on the youngest female. "The entire Kohana family."

Everyone agreed.

The blind girl slept on, remaining completely unaware of the conversation that had just taken place.


	11. Rescue

My mind was slowly brought back in to my body, the muscles of my shoulder, stomach, and back still very sore, my body still extremely tired. I could hear the chirping of birds, and the sounds of footsteps. I was aware of a gentle rocking motion, but I disregarded it. I buried my face in to a warm cloth that I was leaning against, planning on drifting back to sleep. The smell that was soaked in to the cloth was comforting.

That's when I noticed the arm hooked under my knees, and around my back. I opened my eyes and tried to sit up out of habit. All that accomplished was whoever was carrying me dropped me with a sharp intake of breath in surprise. Pain shot up my spine at the hard contact of the ground, causing me to let out a whimper.

"She's awake."

I pushed myself to a sitting position, wincing slightly as the sore muscles of my back stretched painfully. "That one hurt," I muttered.

I turned my head slightly to the right. I was being watched, and I could hear murmurs. I sneezed, the sound coming out more like a squeak.

"Are you okay, Rai?" TenTen asked.

I nodded, and pushed myself up on to my feet. "Just a bit sore," I admitted.

I was handed my pack, slinging over my shoulders, buckling the strap under my breasts. I could not help but wince as the weight of my pack strained my sore shoulder and painful back. It felt like the pack now weighed over fifty kilos.

From about ten feet to my left, I guess, a few giggles came. Giggles I didn't recognize.

"Where are we?" I questioned softly, stepping backwards closer to my teammates, and the feeling of security.

"We're in Getsuigakure, the Moon Village," TenTen answered.

"We are welcome here, right?" I questioned. Some of the looks I was feeling didn't seem exactly welcoming.

My sensei laughed. "Of course. Now come along, we're almost to the Shuhan's building."

We fell in to step behind our teacher. First TenTen and Lee, then Neji and I.

"You carried me all the way here?" I asked, already knowing the answer.

"Hm."

I smiled slightly. "Thank you, Neji-san."

More voices sounded around us, letting me know that we had made it to the town center. The stones were uneven beneath my feet, causing my tired body to stumble, and fall hard.

"Rai!"

I winced as I pushed myself up, my shoulder throbbing slightly. Two sets of hands pulled me to my feet, one arm remained around my waist, pulling my left arm over his shoulders. I winced slightly. "Thank you, Neji-san," I said softly.

"Hm."

The sound of hinges squeaking rang through the air, and we passed in to the cool shadow of a building. Our footsteps echoed signaling that we were in a large, long hall.

"Welcome, shinobi of Konohagakure no Sato. I'm pleased to find that you have arrived safely," a loud voice rang out.

"Bow," Neji ordered, his voice coming out as a hiss.

My body folded in to a deep bow, my hands folded in front of me.

"Please, introduce yourself, and students."

We were allowed to stand up straight as we went down the line.

"TenTen."

"Rock Lee."

"Maito Gai."

"Hyuuga Neji."

"Kohana Rai."

"Welcome all of you. I am Natsu, the Shuhan of Getsuigakure no Sato. Do the five of you have lodgings for the festival?"

This confused me. We had not been informed of a festival, nor that we were to attend.

"No, sire, we do not," Gai-sensei informed the ruler.

"Not a problem. Mika!" His voice echoed loudly throughout the entire room.

"You called, sire?"

"Yes, please escort these fine shinobi to the finest hotel, all expenses to me."

"Of course, sire." A set of light footsteps headed our way.

"Thank you," the five of us sounded, grateful for the older man's hospitality.

"Oh, pish-posh, it's no trouble."

We were lead back out in to the warm sun, the peaceful village full of happy chattering.

"Mika-sensei! Mika-sensei!"

And one girl's terrified screams.

"I'm so sorry. I didn't mean too. I only turned my back for one sec-"

"Keiko, where is Aiko?"

"That's what I'm talking about! Right now, she's dangling off a cliff!"

"What?!"

"I don't know what happened. I looked away for _one second_ , and then she's halfway down a cliff over Gyouko Lake."

“Gyouko Lake? 'Freezing Lake'?"

"Yes."

"Where is it?" I questioned, speaking up.

"Excuse me?" Mika sounded confused.

"Where is it?" I repeated, "I can probably get her."

"It's impossible! No one has the ability to climb down that cliff," Mitsuki shoved in.

"Well, impossible basically sums up Rai," TenTen offered. I rolled my eyes, but said nothing.

"The northernmost part of the village."

"On my way." I disappeared in a breeze of petals.

Where I reappeared, there seemed to be a large commotion. _Guess I found the place,_ I mused.

"Hey! You there! Foreign girl, what are you doing here?" A large man stopped just in front of me.

I kept my gaze at the ground. "I have been sent to help."

"What? Can you climb anything? Can you brave freezing water?"

"Yes. I am a medic nin of Konohagakure no Sato," I answered.

"What's your name?" the older man snarled.

"Kohana Rai."

He seemed to ponder this. "Fine. Come on." He led me to the edge of the cliff. Down below, I could hear the whimpering of a small child. "Most of us are too heavy to climb down. Those of us who are light enough, are not strong enough. You better not let this child die."

I smiled slightly. "I will not, sir." My hands folded in to hand seals and I pressed my hands in to the dirt after the last one. "Shigemi no Jutsu." Vines spread from under my palms, heading down the cliff to where the girl was, stopping a few feet below her, creating a long, stable rope. I discarded my pack, and began the treacherous climb down.

The girl whimpered. "Aiko slipping!" she cried.

I moved more quickly toward her, grateful for my gloves, which kept me from just falling.

I heard the cracking of rock below me. Screams came from above. "She's going to fall!"

I slid down the vine another twenty feet. A couple more and I'd be able to reach her.

A loud _'crack'_ resounded, followed by a scream. The girl had fallen.


	12. Finding the Right One

A loud _'crack'_ resounded, followed by a scream. The girl had fallen.

"Damn it!" I cursed. I shoved myself away from the cliff, diving toward the screaming child. I was thankful for the water below us, but I wouldn't have time or the ability to cushion ourselves for the landing. My arms scooped up the child just in time, and I twisted myself so I would hit the water feet first, lessening the blow.

"Deep breath." She and I both fill our lungs with soon to be very precious oxygen.

It wasn't very long before we hit the freezing water hard. The force of the landing knocked the wind out of me, causing me to lose all of the air I had just sucked in. Feeling no stream of bubbles from the girl, I hoped she felt close to nothing of the landing. Using what was left of the strength I possessed, I pushed the girl toward the surface, hoping she would make it to safety.

My mind was starting to get really foggy, and the freezing water did not seem so cold. It felt almost pleasant. I felt weightless as I drifted.

My peacefulness just had to be interrupted. A pair of strong arms wrapped around my waist. At least, I think it was a pair of arms. I couldn't really tell at the moment.

The next thing I knew, I was lying on sand on my stomach, coughing up a lot of water. Every time I tried to breathe in, I couldn't help but choke and cough up more water. It felt like ages passed before I could breathe freely. I ripped the sopping bandages from my eyes, knowing that they would never dry properly. I rolled on to my side, panting heavily, finding my lungs burned, and my ankles were throbbing. Shivers coursed up and down my spine, to the ends of my toes and fingers. I was becoming hypothermic. If I didn't warm up and dry off soon, I would die.

A pair of arms, larger than either of my male teammates and not Gai-sensei's, lifted me as easily as if I only weighed a few kilos. Around me, I could hear people yelling for medic nins, saying that someone was hurt.

_Who is hurt?_ I tried to move my arms to free myself from the man's grip, but found I could not move them. _What's going on?_ I could feel and hear everything, but I couldn't move. My body wouldn't respond. _I guess they mean me. I'm the one that's hurt._

I was being placed on a stretcher, my limbs and head being strapped down to keep me from moving, a thick, warm blanket wrapped around my small frame. Shivers roared up and down my spine, my body trying to warm itself up, though it didn't seem to be working.

"Rai! Where are you?!" TenTen's voice screamed from nearby.

I tried to open my eyes, begging them to follow my will. They didn't respond. I tried to form words, but my lips and tongue refused to move.

"Rai-chan!" Lee's cry echoed right past me.

"Rai! Answer us!" Neji's yell came as an order.

The seal activated. My lips and tongue burned, it felt like my throat was on fire. "I'm here. I'm here," I managed to whisper.

I must have blacked out then, because I don't remember anything that happened after that. Except that I had stopped shivering.

"Where could she be?" The eldest female of Gai's team was extremely worried about the youngest member.

"There is Mika-san! And she's with a little girl!" Lee called back to Neji and TenTen, pointing at the mother and child.

The small girl was wrapped up in a large blanket, her mother having silent tears coursing down her cheeks as she held her child tightly to her.

The three genin headed over to the woman. She looked up as they approached.

"Where is your teammate? I want to thank her," she requested, gently wiping the tears from her eyes.

The teenagers were surprised. "We were going to ask if you knew where she was."

"Ai-Aiko s-sorry," the little girl chirped, her shivering interrupting her speech. She cuddled closer to her mother. "Girl who s-save Aiko w-was t-taken."

"Taken? Who took her?" TenTen questioned, kneeling to the small child's height.

She shrugged, "They wore wh-white suits."

"Medic nin," Neji said shortly.

"Why would the medic nin take Rai, but not Aiko?" TenTen asked, standing back up.

"Ni-nice girl didn't come b-back up," Aiko offered, wanting to help.

"What do you mean, Aiko-chan?" the taijutsu expert asked, kneeling down beside the girl.

"Nice girl pushed Aiko up, man grab Aiko and wrap Aiko in b-blanket. After waiting a minute, girl did not come up. M-man jumped in, and c-came back with girl. But s-something wrong with girl."

"What was wrong with her?"

She shrugged. "Girl was not moving. Aiko scared, very scared. Then man bent over her, Aiko couldn't see, then she rolled over and starts coughing water. Then men in white suit take girl away." She sniffed slightly, probably having caught a cold in the process of this incident.

"Thank you very much, Aiko-chan. Mika-san, could you point us in the direction of the hospital?" Lee inquired.

"Of course, the very center of town."

So, the three genin set off to find their missing teammate.

My sightless eyes slowly opened, my senses slowly becoming aware of my surroundings. Other than incessant beeping, I couldn't pick up anything other than the antiseptic smell of hospitals.

I gasped, sitting straight up, coughing hard. My lungs hurt. Actually, most of my body hurt. My back, stomach, throat, left arm, both ankles; the list went on. I was in desperate need of a long hot bath, preferably lasting for several hours.

With my hand to my face, I noticed tubes leading to my nostrils. I was on oxygen. Running my right hand through my slightly damp hair, I felt a tug on my arm. A gentle touched revealed that an IV was inserted in to the inside of my elbow. I was extremely tempted to remove it, but had a feeling I'd be in trouble if I did.

"So, you're awake.”

I jumped. "Sorry?"

The nurse clicked her tongue. "Poor thing. Do you remember what happened?"

I thought back. "Is Aiko-chan okay?" I asked carefully.

"In perfect form other than a small cold. You saved her life, you know." The older woman sat down at the end of my bed. "Some other shinobi of Konohagakure no Sato have been waiting for you to wake. Want me to let them in?" She gently removed the IV from my arm, and pulled the oxygen tubes away from my face.

I nodded. "Please."

"Of course." She stood up. "You're allowed to leave whenever you feel up to it."

"Thank you," I called after her. I leaned back against the pillows again, feeling exhausted.

The door opened again a minute or so later, closing right after three pairs of footsteps enter.

I gave a small smile, "Hello."

They seemed become calmer and less tense, as if that one word had broken some sort of trance. TenTen immediately hurried over and wrapped her arms around me. "You had us so worried. Why didn't you answer?" She sat down beside me.

I managed a slightly larger smile. "Wasn't exactly able to. I had no control over my body due to hypothermia. I did hear you, though, if it makes you feel any better."

She gave a soft laugh. "Come on, let's get you out of here. We brought your backpack, just in case."

I nodded, "Thank you." The hospital gown they had wrapped around me was not exactly what I wanted to be seen in.

A quick change of clothing, and the four of us headed out.

"Mika-san has already given us a room at the hotel, and apparently it is large enough for the four of us to have a room together, and Gai-sensei has a room to himself. Lucky bastard."

I giggled softly as TenTen swore. I could feel stares as we walked away from the center of town. "We're being watched," I warned.

"Not us, you," Lee clarified.

"Why me?" I didn't like attention, not of any kind.

Neji scoffed. "Probably because you jumped a cliff, saved a little girl, ended up in the hospital, and almost died because of hypothermia."

I turned my gaze to the ground, "Oh." I sighed softly. "How much farther now?" I asked. Attention didn't usually turn out well for me.

"Rai-chan!"

I quickly turned around to face who had called me. "Yes?"

Two small arms tightly wrapped around my waist. The force caused by the tiny body knocking in to mine pitched me backwards, causing me to land with a heavy thud and pain shooting up my spine. I grimaced slightly but kept my mouth tightly shut to avoid having whimpers slip out and alerting the little girl of my pain.

The small girl quickly stood up off me and began to apologize profusely.

A strong hand wrapped around my good arm and hauled me to my feet. "Up you go," and older man said. It was the man who had saved my life.

As he released me from his grasp, I gave a deep bow. "Thank you. I owe you my life."

Then he did something that I really didn't expect to hear. He laughed, uproariously. "Forget it, I just couldn't let the savior of little Aiko die like that."

I nodded, turning my gaze to the ground, remembering that I had never replaced the bandages around my eyes.

"So, I'm aware that none of you have the appropriate clothing for the event tomorrow night."

I nodded, hearing my friends make agreeing sounds.

"Then let's go get some. Mika, you mind taking the girls? I’ll take Aiko with me and the boys."

"Not at all."

So we headed out to do some shopping. The store we entered smelled of fancy soaps and cloth. It didn't take long for Mika and TenTen to find their kimonos, seeming to have an easy time of it. While they were shopping, I seemingly browsed, gently running my fingers over different kimonos. I was easy to lose myself in the different textures and scents of every outfit.

"Rai-san, have you found anything?"

I blinked at the title Mika-san had placed with my name. "No, not yet. I'm not really sure what I'm looking for," I admitted.

"Well, come on. We'll help you find something. All expenses are going to Natsu-sama, so don't worry about the price of anything." Mika let out a small giggle. "What kinds of designs do you like?" she questioned, turning away from me.

I thought about it for a moment. "I really don't want to stand out," I told her, scratching at the back of my head.

"So, black or white?" She wanted clarification.

I nodded. "Please."

"What's your size?"

I shook my head, not understanding.

"Your size? Your kimono size? You don't know?" She sounded surprised.

I shook my head again. I never had to wear a full kimono before. I had never been allowed to go to any of the festivals of Konohagakure. Mother had told me once that Father hadn't even allowed me to even attend my own naming ceremony back in our home village.

"No problem, we'll just ask for some help." She disappeared from my side, her chakra signature vanishing. A moment later, she was back with another woman. "Rai-san, she's going to take a few measurements, and then we can find you a proper kimono.

I nodded, just before I was pulled toward the back of the store. The woman lifted my arms, telling me to hold them up. I don't know how many things she measured. My arms, waist, hips, shoulders, legs, height, I lost count.

She sighed softly, signaling she was done. "I'm sorry to say, we only have one kimono that would fit you properly."

I nodded. The joys of being small and short…

"Can we see it?" Mika asked.

"Of course." Her footsteps retreated, leaving my senses for a few moments, before returning. "Here. What do you think? I'm sorry we don't have any more in your size. You might be able to find something in the children's store if this doesn't work for you."

Mika was silent.

I nodded. "May I try it on?"

"Of course."

I was shoved in to a dressing room with the garments. I pulled off my clothing, exposing my undergarments. I slipped on the under-layer, tying it closed, and finger-less gloves. I pulled on the top layer, then wrapped the obi around my waist. My hands did not know how to tie it, so I stuck my head out of the dressing room. "Could someone give me a hand, please?" I requested.

"Coming," TenTen called. The curtain moved, and I felt her hands turn my back to her, and she easily tied the obi. She gently pushed me out of the dressing room, and into the light.

"Rai, you are getting it. No buts, this is your kimono."

I nodded, running my hands over the silky cloth. A slight smile grew across my lips.

I changed out of it, and Mika explained to the sales woman that all costs were going to Natsu-sama. So, we headed out to lunch. Apparently, shopping works up an appetite, or so I'm told.

I smiled slightly over my bowl of chicken flavored ramen before slurping up a few noodles. "Thank you, Mika-san, for helping me. And thank you for lunch," I made sure to tell her.

She let out a short laugh. "I'm glad you are able to stay for the festival tomorrow. And you're welcome. I'm glad I can spend my time with such fine and well-mannered shinobi."

Lee couldn't help but thank the woman graciously for her compliments.

"What's up with this, Mika-sensei? You're out with ninjas that we don't even know?"


	13. Altercation

A spark of chakra came from behind me. I sat up straight and turned around. My eyes flicked back in forth, seeming to look around, but in reality using my hearing and a thin layer of chakra to sense whoever was there.

"What's up with this, Mika-sensei? You're out with ninjas that we don't even know?"

Two boys and a girl. I'm guessing they are students of Mika-san.

"Kisho, behave yourself. We have company. I would like to introduce you to Rock Lee, TenTen, Hyuuga Neji, Maito Gai, and Kohana Rai. They are here on a mission from Konohagakure and will be staying for the festival. Everyone, these are my students; Chuuko Kisho, Kyuui Zen, and Ippai Mitsuki."

"Hello," the three sounded.

"Hello," we repeated.

"Your name is Kohana, correct?" one of the males asked me.

I nodded. "Hai." I wasn't sure what his motive behind the question was.

"There was a man here, about a month ago, and his name was Kohana. You know him? Towa?"

I stiffened, sitting up straight. "My elder brother," I said softly. I could feel the eyes of my comrades on me, but I gave no indication of noticing.

He wrapped a strong hand around my upper arm and hauled me out of my seat. "Fight me."

My seal burned and sightless eyes widened. "What?"

"You heard me. Fight me."

I wrenched my arm out of his grip. "Why?"

"I have a revenge to complete. Beating you will put me up another step."

The other boy, Zen, snickered. "She's going to lose. You remember what Towa-sama said: _'There is only my sister, but she is nothing to me.'_ She's got to be the weakest thing then."

I glowered. "Fine."

"Rai!" TenTen and Lee chorused.

"He wants to, so why not fulfill his wish." _It's not like I can get out of it now. It was an order._ I took the last couple bites of my lunch. "Lead the way."

I was led through the center of the village and to the other side of the town. We stopped in what I guessed was a training field, due to the sound of shinobi training.

I shifted my weight so my feet were about shoulder-width apart and evenly supporting me. _I'm still sore from meeting that nin and falling off the cliff. This will not be fun._ I crossed my arms and tipped my head forward, eyes closed. My hidden hand grasped the short senbon (about half the size of normal senbon) that were hidden in the obi of my short kimono.

"Fight!" Gai-sensei called, giving us the signal to go.

Neither of us moved. I could not do anything until I knew what type of fighter he was. A simple handshake would have told me what I needed to know. But that had never happened, so I was stuck knowing absolutely nothing about him, and he could figure out everything about me with a single look, watching a single move.

To put it simply, I am completely out of luck.

For a bit, there was no movement from either of us. It was almost as the two of us had been frozen in time, had it not been for the cherry blossoms in the wind.

"Why aren't they doing anything?"

Those five words broke the spell. Kisho dove forward, throwing punches almost as quickly as Lee could. I ducked and weaved around his fists, finding that he had bracelets or something close to that around his wrists, making it easy for me to hear where he was going to be.

"Whoa! She's fast!"

I smirked slightly, and threw a punch of my own, three short senbon clutched in my fist showing not even an inch of metal. I landed that single punch in his gut, the sharp needle-like weapons ripping in to flesh. I heard him cry out and felt liquid on my knuckles. I threw myself in to a backwards roll, avoiding his stumbling feet.

_Did I go in too deep?_

"How did she hurt him that badly with a single punch?"

"Who is that fighting that boy?"

"I don't know, but I hope she beats him."

More people had gathered. Townsfolk, it seems. And they seem to not like Kisho so much.

I could feel my flute prodding my back as I moved to stand up again. I smirked slightly, not really wanting to use it in this fight. I drew two kunai (while slipping away the senbon), one in each hand, mostly to add weight behind my punches but also to have a weapon at my disposal.

The male came at me again, but slower this time. It was easier to duck between the punches. What I didn't know was that he was going to throw a kick in. I was nailed in the throat, causing me to choke and cough as I hit the ground hard.

"Rai!"

"Was that kick really that bad for her?"

"She's in really bad shape right now. I'm not sure why she even agreed to the fight."

"Come on girl! Get up!"

Another choke and breath was allowed in to my lungs again. My arm quaked, my shoulder pounded, my back popped, and my stomach burned as I pushed myself back up. Sweat dripped down my forehead. I really wasn't in the best of shape for a fight right now.

_I really have to push myself today._

I kicked off, pushing myself to go top speed. I threw a series of punches, nailing him in his shoulder, abdomen, hip, and chin. I dropped down and whipped my leg around, knocking his leg out from under him, sending him sprawling. Sitting on my heels, I formed several hand seals. I slammed my palms in to the earth.

This was a jutsu I had read a long time ago, and had decided to try out, knowing that it was similar to my Shigemi no Jutsu. Didn’t realize it was going to take so much chakra though. Vines sprouted from around the male, curling around his arms, legs, waist, and neck. I took one of the kunai, and hurled it toward him. It stuck in the ground just next to his cheek, leaving a short gash.

"I win."

Everything was silent for a moment, and then cheers erupted from the edges of the field. Shinobi and townsfolk alike cheered for the victor, cheered for me.

"You go, girl!"

"Thank god somebody beat that punk!"

"You're going to have to come back and beat him every-so-often, keep him in his place.”

I smiled slightly, forming a single hand-sign to cancel the jutsu before my legs gave out, my ankles throbbing. I sat in the grass; my good arm the only thing keeping me up in a sitting position.

Two sets of feet were heard running toward me, another two pairs following at a somewhat slower pace.

"Nice job, Rai. We were worried there for a second," TenTen said, sitting down beside me.

"Hey."

I looked up at the male in front of me, before closing my eyes. "Can I help you?"

"As an apology for forcing the fight on you, I'll be your date to the festival. Deal?"

"No."

Kisho sputtered slightly, taken aback by the rejection. "Why is that?"

"For you to be my date, you would have to know something about me that no one else knows. And for that to happen, I would have to know you for another five, six years. Maybe not even then."

He sniffed slightly. "Fine, suit yourself." He stomped away.

"So, Rai-chan, who is your date?"

"No one."

"Are you sure? I'm sure we can find someone who you will agree to."

I sighed in answer to Mika's question, lying back on the ground, relaxing slightly. "As I told Kisho-san, I would have to tell him something I really don't feel like telling."

"What?"

Lee seemed slightly startled. "You haven't noticed yet?"

"Noticed what?"

I sighed again. "Since you just blatantly pointed it out, I guess we should tell her."

"What are you talking about?"

"I'm blind, can't you tell?"

"So, you won't tell Kisho that, so he can't be your date."

"Precisely."

"How long have you been blind?"

I pursed my lips slightly. "Almost six years."

"Okay then." She seemed just a little overwhelmed by the information just presented to her. "Are you sure…?"

"For almost six years now, I have seen nothing. No blacks, greys, no sparks of white or color, just nothing."

"How-"

"Poison that was like acid. It was splashed in to my eyes, which is why I have some slight scarring around my eyes and across the bridge of my nose."

"Who-"

"Classified information. Any other questions?"

There was no response.

I couldn't help but smile.


	14. Getting Ready

Hot water poured down my back and over my head. I sighed, leaning back in the tub. The hot water was extremely soothing to my sore muscles. It felt like ages since I have had a nice bath.

"Hey, Rai! We have to start getting ready!" TenTen's knocks on the thick, wooden door were hard, making sure I heard them.

I couldn't help but groan slightly, sore arms lifting myself out of the bathtub. I wrapped a warm towel around my body, a smaller one around my head. Slowly, and carefully, I wiped away every drop of moisture. The bath had left me feeling refreshed, more awake, and slightly less sore. With my body sufficiently dry, I pulled on my undergarments, and the lower garment that remained unseen underneath the kimono, low-cut neck, short-sleeves, stopping at my knees, cinched tightly around my waist.

I let TenTen in to the bathroom then. I could hear the rustling of fabric as she walked, telling me she was carrying something over her arm, a large amount of fabric.

"Mind if I paint your nails, first?" she asked, setting whatever she was carrying in her arms on the vanity.

I nodded. "What color?"

"Black."

I bit my lower lip. "Isn't that a little dark?"

She laughed softly. "It will look perfect with your kimono. People will barely notice it."

I nodded again.

For the next five minutes, several coats of black lacquer were applied to my fingernails, which were rather long, seeing as I haven't clipped them in a while.

After those dried, I was told to slip on fingerless fishnet gloves that fit all the way to just above my elbow. I'm guessing in case the wide sleeves slide up my arms.

Over the slip I already wore, the actual kimono was pulled on. TenTen described it to me as she tied the obi around my waist.

The main color was a deep black. It was decorated completely by white roses and green thorned vines connecting them. The edges were a deep purple, with ruffles of the same color sewn on the inside edges, just peeking out at the neckline, sleeves, and bottom. The obi was a solid black, no pattern, but edged in the same color purple. Around it, a purple cord, tied in to a bow slightly off center.

In my hair, just above my ear, a glass, black, sakura with five white beads in the center provided a way to hold my bangs out of my eyes. I gently ran my fingers over the fragile petals, examining the craftsmanship of the handmade item.

A small smile spread across my lips. "What are you wearing?"

She chuckled. "I'll tell you later. Come on, everyone is waiting."

She started to pull me toward the living area, and I stopped, pulling out of her grasp.

"What's up?"

"Are you sure, this looks okay?" I tucked a strand of my bangs behind my ear, only to have it fall in front of my face again.

"In truth, you look like a porcelain doll. And you know how pretty those are."

I blushed. _I had one growing up. She's still in my room, I believe. Not that I'm about to go in there and check..._ I tugged gently on the cloth. _How could TenTen compare me to something that pretty?_ I said nothing and followed my friend.

A few rooms down, I could hear several voices, all of them I recognized. Mika-san's team was on their way out. Neji-san, Lee-san, and Gai-sensei, along with Mika-san were still inside, waiting for TenTen and me.

"You ready?"

I nodded. The two of us headed in to the living room.

The talking ceased the moment we walked in. I felt several pairs of eyes tracing myself.

"Geeze, is that really Rai-chan?"

I blushed. "C-can we leave now, please?"

"Of course. We don't want to be late." Mika led the way to the exit.

After stopping a moment to slip on out shoes, we were on our way.

I ended up walking beside Neji. Having not replaced the bandages around my eyes, I kept them focused on the ground in front of me.

"You look nice."

My head shot up, sightless eyes settling on the male beside me.

"What?"

"Did you just say-"

"I didn't say anything."

I shook my head, returning my gaze back to the ground. A small smile played on my lips. _He approves..._

Well, that made my day.


	15. Falling of a Different Kind

I heard the commotion long before we actually entered the area that the festival was being held. Many voices sounded around me, blending in to a heavy and loud drone, completely enveloping all of my senses.

Usually I would be able to handle and block out most of the noise. But with all the stress my body and mind have under gone on the past two days, I couldn't handle it. My body began to shake, and I couldn't help but cover my ears, trying to block out the noise. Let's just say, it wasn't working too well.

An arm quickly and easily snaked around my waist, pulling me against a warm body. I pressed my face in to the fabric of the shirt the male was wearing, finding the scent comforting, just as I had this morning. I curled my fingers in the clothing, not wanting to be removed from the sanctuary I had just found myself in. Arms wrapped around my small frame, holding me securely.

"What's up with her? She's acting oddly."

I felt Neji's shoulders go up and down. "She's usually able to block out noise. But she's never been in a crowd this large before. It's probably too much for her."

"Then, it would probably be best to get out of the crowd. Come on."

I was gently pulled to start moving in the direction of the others. The noise of the crowds diminished, and I managed to relax enough to be able to walk beside Neji instead of pressed in to his chest. “I’m sorry, Neji-san," I whispered.

"It's fine." His arm, which still held residence at my waist, tightened slightly as if to draw me closer.

I was then pulled toward the ground, the arm indicating for me to sit down. I followed its order, finding a blanket covered the ground. The noises of the large crowd had almost shrunk to being a buzz in the back of my mind.

"Hello, everyone!" a now familiar voice called.

I couldn't help but smile at the sound of the male who had pulled my unmoving body from the freezing lake. Come to think of it, I still have never learned his name.

"Hello, Tomoyuki-san," Mika called. I could hear the fabric of her kimono rustling as she waved to the large man.

Well, that solves that problem.

The blanket was tugged on slightly as the man sat down. “I don't believe I know all of your names.”

“Maito Gai.”

“TenTen.”

“Rock Lee.”

“Hyuuga Neji.”

“Ko-”

“I know your name, sweetheart,” he said with a laugh. He had a nice laugh, deep and rich. The kind of laugh that always makes other people smile.

The area grew quieter as everyone other than Neji and I headed off to find something to do. I was looking up at the sky, imagining all of the stars that were up above me.

“Do you want to dance?”

I turned to the male and simply blinked. “I'm sorry?” I was sure I had heard him right.

“Do you want to dance?” he asked again.

I thought about it for a minute, before a small smile spread across my lips and a blush across my cheekbones. “Sure.”

A strong hand wrapped around my bicep, pulling me up in to a standing position. I was then instructed to wrap my arm around his, my hand resting on his forearm. This only served to make my blush darken as I was lead toward the music and a small crowd of people. After being lead through a small throng of people in a circle around the dance floor, we entered the actual area. He pulled me close to him, one hand just under my shoulder blade, and the other clasping one of mine. My free hand rested on the junction of his shoulder and neck. The song had moved from a quick beat to a slow waltz. Slowly, Neji and I spun lazy circles across the dance floor.

“Why ask me to dance?”

His grip shifted slightly, telling me he was uncomfortable with the question. “It seemed like the right thing to do,” he answered.

I smiled, and moved one of my hands to his face. I wanted to know what his expression was. I could feel that one side of his lips was curled slightly in a smirk, his eyes were soft. My smile grew the barest bit as I rested my hand on his shoulder again.

We continued to spin in slow circles until the song ended.

“Would you like something to drink?” he asked, as we exited the dance floor.

I swallowed, feeling a parched throat. “That would be nice.”

“Why don’t you wait here, and I'll be right back,” he said, letting go of my hand after sitting me down on a bench.

I smiled slightly to myself. I could be blind with Neji. I could actually be what I am with him, and I liked that. And I also knew that Neji had a lot of fan girls back in Konohagakure, and he didn't like them very much. I knew I could not tell him what I felt for him, not without risk of angering the Hyuuga male, and losing the friendship I had gained with him.

I felt the bench groan as another weight settled on the bench.

“Hello, sweetheart! What you doing here by yourself?” an older voice slurred as an arm was thrown over my shoulder.

I shrugged it off. “I'm waiting for someone. I ask you kindly to please leave me alone,” I said in a polite, formal tone.

“Aw, honey, don't be like that. I know you're looking for company.” I could smell the sake, heavy on his breath.

“No, thank you, sir. I'm quite content on my own.” I stood up, planning on leaving.

I did not get very far.

“No you don't, missy. Don’t go anywhere. You're staying here with me.” He pulled me back down on to the bench. His hands gripped my upper-arms tightly in a crushing grip, not allowing me to move anywhere. He moved closer to me, so his thigh was pressed against mine. I could feel his breath against my neck, causing a cold sweat to break out on my face. I wanted to struggle, but his order of not going anywhere had me frozen in place, like I had turned to stone.

My sightless eyes stared straight ahead as his lips touched my neck. I could feel a shiver of revulsion want to fly down my spine, but I couldn't move.

_Neji... Please hurry..._


	16. Not Telling

I was stuck. There was no way I could move, to get out of this situation. The drunk’s arms were wrapped around my waist now, around my arms, pinning them at my side. He was moving from my neck to my ear and along my jawbone. I wanted so badly to get out of there.

 _Let me go..._ My mind whispered it over and over. _Move Rai!_ I tried to order myself to move. It wouldn't work. No matter how hard I tried, I couldn't order myself to do something. I had tried in many situations to try and get myself to follow my own orders, but the curse did not allow my order to overshadow someone else's orders.

“Rai?”

My name drifted across the noisy crowd, just loud enough for my sensitive ears to pick it up.

“Rai!”

It was louder now, causing the man beside me to stop, very much to my relief.

I still couldn't move though, so I could not push the man away.

“Get away from her!”

The voice was a lot closer and a lot louder now. The man knew whom Neji was referring to now. I heard him give a low chuckle before standing up.

“You're luck's up, sonny. You girlfriend wants me now, not you,” he told Neji, placing himself between my teammate and me.

I still hadn't moved. My hands in my lap and my non-blinking eyes were staring straight ahead.

“Rai, come here,” Neji ordered.

As I jumped to my feet, I let out a sigh of relief. I quickly moved to Neji's side, hiding slightly behind him and gently holding on to his arm, as if it was my only hold from being dragged away.

“Hey, girlie, I thought we were having fun. Get back over here.”

My seal started to burn as I refused.

“No matter what he says, do not go to him, Rai.” The seal stopped burning instantly. “And you, sir, have overstepped your bounds. I will make sure your leader hears of how you treat guests of your city.”

The man shuffled his feet before mumbling something and scurrying away.

Then, Neji turned to me.

I flinched, shying away from the older male. “I-I’m sorry, Neji-san. B-b-but he ordered-”

“Shut up.”

I flinched again, stepping backwards a few paces, trying to put distance between us.

The male sighed. “I know it wasn't your fault. You can't resist orders at all that tell you to not move.” His voice had softened. Smooth plastic touched the palm of my hand. “I got your drink.”

I nodded, keeping my eyes on the ground as I took a sip of the sweet tea. “C-can we just go back to the others now?” I asked, keeping my voice quiet.

He took my arm again, not answering, but leading me through the crowd toward where the others were waiting for the fireworks to begin.

As we sat down, the first one whistled in to the air, the _'boom'_ echoing throughout the area. I smiled, remembering when Mother and I would watch the colors explode in the sky from my bedroom window. With every explosion, I imagined what colors and shapes they had taken. Whether they were waterfalls or starbursts. I could imagine every color that lit up the sky. The bright reds and soft golds turned the skies from night to day.

One after another, the explosives went up. They must have lasted an hour, at the least. I had no way of knowing how much time went by.

I was brought out of my imaginings by a hand on my shoulder.

“Time to go home, Rai.” Mika's voice was soft, as she gently grasped my upper-arm to pull me in to a standing position.

I lowered myself in to the bath for the second time today, hissing as the hot water scalded my pale skin slightly. My sore muscles tightened, as if afraid of what the water would do.

Once my body was fully submerged, I leaned my head back, allowing my short hair to soak in the liquid.

_What am I to do, Mother? I've never felt this way before._

I was at loss as to what these feelings toward Neji meant. I knew I liked him as more than a friend, but I wasn't sure what that meant.

I submerged myself fully, finding the warmth soothing and relaxing, happy to have a sanctuary to escape to.

“Rai! Are you coming to bed soon?” Mika's voice came through the door, along with three sharp knocks.

I sighed, blowing bubbles out of my nose. I surfaced, pulling the hair out of my face. “Yes, Mika-san,” I called back, settling to rest back in the tub.

“Okay. Good night then.”

“Good night.”

As silence fell over the area again, I rested my head against the wood of the bath, drawing back in to my thoughts.

It was simple. I couldn't tell him how I felt. Impossible. Never going to happen.


	17. The Start of Trouble

Familiar scents wafted through the air. The old gates creaked to a close behind us, shutting heavily to keep the unwanted out, not that ninja couldn't just hop over the gates.

“So, to the Hokage-sama's office?” I asked, really just wanted to go home to rub some more healing salve on my shoulder. It still wasn't completely healed, though I hoped it would be by Monday, when our next training session was.

“Only for myself and Neji, Rai-chan. You may go home.” I'm sure the statement was accompanied by a large grin and thumbs-up.

“Thank you, Gai-sensei.” I turned away and in mid-step, disappeared in to a breeze of flower petals.

I smiled slightly as the scent of my garden filled my senses, the lavender, the lilies, and all of the other flowers that thrived here.

I headed up the path, continuing without stopping, finishing the step I had started before I teleported.

Now, first things first. I headed straight in to the bathroom, changed in to a short white robe (nothing on underneath), and out a smaller door that most would confuse for a small closet. The door led out in to a small staircase heading up. Most people didn't realize that this was here unless you really looked.

The stairs came to a stop in a small, screened-in room. A set of shelves holding towels and incense dominated the wall that was against the house. But otherwise, the only object in the room was a small two-person tub. This was my reason for the white robe, and nothing else.

I slipped my robe down my arms, until it was hooked around my elbows. I was just about to step in to the steaming bath when the door banged open.

“Kohana-san!”

I screamed, one of the high-pitched screams you hear in horror movies, you know? The ones right before the girl is slau- I'll stop.

I quickly recovered myself as I turned to face the unknown ninja. My face was hot with embarrassment.

“O-oh, I’m sorry, Kohana-san. You are to be reporting to Hokage-sama's office immediately and directly,” the young man said.

I clutched my robe closer, knowing the man would not let me change in to normal clothes. I nodded, at the same time teleporting to the familiar office.

“Yes, Saritobi-sama? You wanted to see me?” I asked quietly, completely aware of the fact that my sensei and a member of my squad were in the room as well. And also of the fact I was wearing a robe that barely even hit my mid-thigh.

“I have heard some interesting things about you, Kohana-san. Please, sit down.”

I flinched. He had never called me ‘Kohana-san’ before.

Something wasn't right. Not at all.

“I believe you have been keeping secrets from the Shinobi Order.”

I hugged myself, closing my eyes. With my arms tightly around myself, I realized that I was shaking. I was scared. I sank to my knees, my head bowed, ignoring the tears that stung my eyes.

“You will tell me the truth to every question I ask.”

I nodded stiffly, answering before the seal could even react to the order.

“Are you really blind?”

Another nod.

“Who blinded you?”

“T-Towa,” I choked out. A few tears leaving my burning eyes. I hugged myself tighter.

“How?”

“A-acidic p-poison.”

“Why?”

“I'm not sure.” A few more tears streaked down my cheekbones, falling faster than before.

I heard the rustling of kage robes. The elderly man was kneeling down in front of me. I flinched when felt his hand on my shoulder. “Did your father follow the teachings of the Kusabana village?”

I could only nod, choking back a sob. _He's kicking me out. I'm not going to be a medic nin._

“Wait a minute.” I flinched as Neji's feet hit the ground as he stood up. “Are you kicking her out of the order?”

A silence ensued.

I hugged myself tighter, tears falling more freely. _Guess you were right, Father. I'm no good._

“No. I'm not going to make her leave the order.”

I looked up at the man beside me. “R-really?” My eyes were wide with hope.

“Promise.”

A grand smile of relief spread across my face. He wasn't kicking me out of the Order! I threw my arms around the older man, hugging him tightly. “Thank you, Saritobi-sama!” I pushed myself away from him, and bowed, becoming more polite.

“You may leave, Rai-san. And Neji-san, please walk her home for me,” the older man instructed.

I shook my head. “That is not needed, though I thank you.”

“Rai-san, that is an order.”

I couldn't help flinch at the command. “Y-yes, Hokage-sama.”

“Very good. Now, good day to you.”

Neji's hand wrapped around my arm, heaving me up from my kneeling position. I quickly pulled my robe down to try to make it longer.

“It's fine. You can't see anything,” Neji said quickly.

I nodded; my face flushed bright red at the thought of him checking.

We quickly headed out of the room.

The walk home took a very long time, so much longer than what it should have been.

“Why didn't you tell us?”

Neji's question came as a surprise. I blinked, my blind gaze moving in his direction. “Why? For what reason did I have to tell you? But I have a question of my own to ask of you. Why did you, for whatever reason, go to the _Hokage_ about me? Were you trying to have me kicked out of the Order?” I had to work at keeping my voice low as to not attract attention.

“We had to be sure you were safe to be around.” His voice was stiff and cold, like a long-been-dead body.

I gaped, my mouth opening and closing, but no words issuing forth from it. I gritted my teeth, and settled for glaring at the boy.

In mid-step, I disappeared, leaving the male confused and angry.

Good riddance.


	18. Infighting

It has been a long couple of weeks for the team of Maito Gai. Fights and screaming matches were bursting from every which way between the Hyuuga boy and the Kohana girl. They were seemingly unprovoked, caused simply by just being within proximity of each other.

It was hard to believe that less than a month ago they were in each other’s arms, dancing at the Moon Festival. Now, they are threatening to rip out the other’s throat every time one makes a snide remark.

The fights were so bad that even Saritobi was becoming concerned on the matter. It was time to call in reinforcements.

A jounin appeared just outside of his superior’s office. He wasn’t sure what this visit was going to be about, but he knew that it was important because the Hokage had said he was to appear immediately with the utmost urgency.

A quick knock on the door and he was allowed in to the Hokage’s office. “You summoned me? Hokage-sama?”

“Yes, Kakashi. You remember Kohana Rai, correct?” Saritobi asked, turning to look him in the eye.

“How could I forget her? Why?” He crossed his arms, wondering what this was about.

“It seems that she is having some problems with a teammate of hers who created some bad blood. I want you to resolve it. Understood?”

“Understood, but why me?” Now Kakashi was quite confused.

Saritobi let out a long sigh, showing off his age only slightly. “You were close to her before the accident. I’m hoping you can re-forge that bond and help resolve the issues between the two teammates.”

“Understood.” He was still slightly confused. _What accident? What is he talking about?_ With a quick bow of respect, Kakashi left the office in search of the target of his mission.

The scene he found me in was not one he suspected to see. The Hyuuga had been shooting off his mouth again, so I was determined to shut him up. Both Lee and TenTen were having a hard time holding me back from the older boy. I was slowly dragging the two of the across the field with me as I went to settle this score and shut him up for good.

A second later, I found another roadblock in my path. I glared up in the direction that his face would be, expecting to find my sensei, finally fed up with the fights. But it wasn’t.

“What do you want, Kashi-kun?” I snapped trying to move around him while still pulling TenTen and Lee along with me.

He didn’t say anything, but suddenly Lee and TenTen both let go of me at the same time, causing me to jolt forward at the sudden release of not having to fight them to move forward. I smashed right in to the jounin in front of me. I didn’t have time to react when I was picked up around my middle and thrown over the man’s shoulder.

“Hey! Put me down so I can kill him!” I yelled at the man holding me hostage.

“No. I’m taking you away from him. You can talk to him calmly later.” With that, he had the two of us disappear.

Wind chimes and the sound of bubbling water filled my ears as we reappeared in my front yard. That’s when I decided to fight with all of my might to get away from the man holding on to me.

“Let go!” I pounded against his back with my fists as he walked in to my house.

“No,” he answered simply.

“Why?”

“’Cause I was told to make the fighting stop.”

“By who?”

“The Hokage.”

I paled and stopped hitting him. My behavior had reached to Hokage? This was bad, really bad. Saritobi-sama already had a black mark against my name. I didn’t want to give him another reason to make me leave the order.

My eyes stung behind the wrappings as I hid my face in my hands. I realized how out of line I had been these past few weeks.

Kakashi placed me down on the ground where I instantly collapsed. “I’m sorry, I’m sorry…” I repeated, over and over.

A rustle of cloth told me that he had kneeled in front of me. “What are you so sorry about?” he questioned.

I pulled the bindings away from my eyes, allowing the tears to flow freely. “I allowed my past to define who I was. I was living by my disability and, at the same time, making sure that it was never known. When Hyuu- I mean Neji-san, said that to me, I let my fear of never being good enough define me.” I wiped away a few tears and sniffed slightly.

“Disability?”

“Saritobi-sama didn’t tell you? I’m blind.” I looked up at him.

He sputtered, but then I could feel him move closer. A rush of air moving past my face told me that he was waving his hand in front of my eyes. “How many fingers am I holding up?”

I moved my hand up in the general direction of his until they brushed together. Laying my palm against his told me my answer. “Two.”

He gave out a sigh. “So, what do you need to do now?”

I mimicked his action. “Apologize profusely?”

He chuckled. “Let’s go then.” His hand wrapped around my wrist and pulled me to my feet.


	19. Apologies

We walked slowly back to the field. Silence reigned between the jounin and me, but it was not uncomfortable as we continued.

Needless to say, I wasn’t all that comfortable on the inside. My mind was in turmoil as I thought about what was going to happen in the very near future. I knew from experience that Hyuuga Neji wasn’t the most forgiving shinobi I had ever come in contact with.

I followed the older man, just one step behind. I couldn’t help but wring my hands together as the field grew close enough to hear the thuds caused by TenTen’s target practice. I paced my steps to be slower to give myself more time before having to face the Hyuuga.

“No, you don’t!” I felt Kakashi’s hand land between my shoulder blades, pushing me forward. “You are going to face him. You are going to apologize. He will forgive you. Understood?”

I nodded, stopping my resistance at the sound of the order. “I just don’t want to face him just yet.”

“Too bad.”

I crossed my arms and grumbled, moving forward a few steps to put some distance between Kakashi and me.

Dirt turned in to grass, then in to dirt again as we entered the training ground. When we were noticed, the sounds of training came to a halt.

“Rai-chan, you have returned. How youthful!” my sensei gushed. I could hear the tears running down his face.

I ignored him, and focused on Hyuuga, his chakra telling me exactly where he was. I came to a stop in front of him and bowed deeply, my back straight and my head down in apology. “I’m sorry!”

He was confused, I could tell. It wasn’t hard seeing as you could almost hear in it his aura.

“I’m sorry I let my past experiences control me. I acted rashly and immaturely.” I stayed bowed even though my apology was through. I had to wait for him to respond.

“Well, I have to go train my own genin,” Kakashi called, poofing away. Loser.

The silence reigned on as the older boy simply stared at me. I refused to move until I received an answer.

“Apology accepted.” He turned and walked away.

I stood up, a surprised look on my face. It didn’t last very long before melting in to a smile, the first one in a month. Without even thinking, I chased after him and threw my arms around his waist. I gripped him tightly, my cheek pressed in to his back as I absorbed his warmth for a few seconds. He froze for half a second before placing his hands on top of mine. My smile grew and I let him go, stepping back and bowing again. “Thank you!”

“S-so… Beautiful!” Gai was sobbing. “It’s so… Youthful!” A few more sniffs, and I could hear the Lee had joined in. My best guess was that TenTen was rolling her eyes. “We shall go and enjoy ramen in celebration of this youthful event! Let us go, my beautiful genins!” He turned away from us and headed out of the training field.

“Yes, Sensei!” Lee cried, running after the older man.

I grabbed Neji’s hand then held out my other hand for TenTen. “Let’s go!” My smile was still as wide as ever.

I could hear them both chuckling as we fell in to a quick pace behind our comrades. I did eventually let go of their hands, in turn clasping them behind my head, humming a happy tune.

We found the ramen stand empty, allowing us to sit right down and enjoy our meal.

“Miss Kohana, we need you to come with us.”


	20. Beginnings of Answers

I looked up at the sound of the unknown voice. “I need to go with you? Where are we going?” I asked, placing down my chopsticks.

“That is not your concern. You are only to come with us. That is all.” The older shinobi wrapped his hand around my wrist, and pulled me to my feet.

I ripped my arm from his grasp, strength coursing through the muscles, allowing me to free myself from him. “Where are we going?” I asked again. I could hear my teammates moving to stand at my sides.

“Rai! Knock it off!”

I jumped at the sound of my sensei’s voice. “I-I’m sorry?” I stuttered. _Did I do something wrong?_

“Shut up and go with them.” I heard him get to his feet as the order sealed my mouth shut. I turned my eyes to the ground and nodded, stepping towards the unknown shinobi.

“Wait a minute. What does the ANBU want with Rai?” TenTen asked. She placed a hand on my shoulder, pulling me backwards.

A shock ran through my system as TenTen prevented me from completing my orders. I close my eyes and gritted my teeth, waiting for someone to clarify what I was supposed to do. I couldn’t talk, but I hoped my teammates would notice that I was torn. I didn’t want to leave the safety of my friends, but I had to follow the orders.

“TenTen, stop. Let Rai go.” His voice was tight and stressed. That told me that he didn’t want to let me go, but had no choice in the matter. He would not stand up to the people that stood in front of us. He wasn’t going to stand up to the ANBU that was sent to fetch me.

I nodded, and stepped forward again, towards the group now identified as ANBU. A hand was placed on my shoulder, a breeze blew past us, and we disappeared out of sight with the wind.

The shinobi moved away and stood against the wall behind me. I moved my head to act like I was looking around.

“You don’t need to hide here, Rai,” a familiar voice spoke up in front of me.

I smiled slightly and bowed, not being able to greet him because of the earlier order.

“Do you know why you are here? Do you know where you are?” the third Hokage spoke again.

I shook my head.

“You are in a room off of my office. You are here because of the seal you carry on your stomach. These gentlemen are from your birth village. They are here to help you with the seal.” A male hand landed on my shoulder from behind me.

My eyes widened, but again, I didn’t say anything.

“You may speak,” the Hokage said, realizing that I wasn’t able to say anything.

“Sir, they know what this seal is for? It’s unlike everything I’ve ever read.” I chose my words carefully. I did not want to seem rude and unappreciative. I wanted this seal gone.

A heavy sigh left his lips. “They are the ones that put the seal on you.”

I unconsciously took a step back towards the ANBU and away from the men in front of me. I tightly wrapped my arms around myself, creating a wall between them and me. “Y-you! You are the ones who…” My voice died before I could finish the sentence. My voice shook with a combination of fear and anger. I had suffered so much because of these men.

“Yes, we are the ones who placed the seal on you, but only to save those lives we guard. You were used to be a savior for the village, in a way. It was your father that wanted the obedience seal merged with it. We are here to release the seal because of some information on your brother that has come to be in our possession.” The man speaking was elderly. I could hear his joints creaking as he moved toward me.

I couldn’t help but take another step back away from him. I was close to the ANBU now. I could feel the body heat of one through my clothes, I was that close to them. “Savior? Father? Release? What information on Brother? What is going on?” My voice was rising slightly in pitch, making the confusion in my voice more pronounced.

A heavy sigh left the old man’s lips. “Have you heard of the child, Naruto?”

I shook my head.

“Have you heard of the Kyuubi?”

I nodded slowly.

“The Kyuubi, after it attacked the leaf village, was sealed by the Fourth in to the seal on the stomach of Uzumaki Naruto. In a similar way, but not as drastic, we sealed a threat of the village in to you.”

I could feel my eyes widening in astonishment. “I have someone sealed in to me?!” I’m sure my voice had jumped an octave.

“Not actually a person, just the spirit of a person. Her body is back in Kusabana under constant watch, just in case something happened to you.”

I had to sit down. I didn’t have a choice in the matter as my knees gave out and I fell against the ANBU behind me. The man caught me and gently lowered me to the ground where I took a moment to process some thoughts. “So, now you want to take her out of me? What does this have to do with Brother?”

“We received some information that your brother is coming to take the Kohana secret from you. We are not taking Amarante from you, merely allowing the two of you to share a mind and body. She will be allowed to take form in your body, allowing you to take on her appearance and hide you from your brother,” he explained. The creaking in his knees told me that he had kneeled down in front of me.

“S-so, that’s the reason that Brother did that? That’s the reason that he killed Mother and Father? To take the secret from me? Because it’s not strong with him?” The truth was coming out. I was finally figuring out what had happened that night.

“We think so.”

I fell silent for a few moments. “Amarante, was her name?”

“Yes.”

“Will she be able to see?”

I heard him click his tongue a few times. “We think so, because she will be turning your body in to hers. We believe that your sight will return as long you are in her form.”

I fell silent again, trying to process all this new information. _Brother_ _tried to kill me to get the secret. He wants to try again. So these people are going to ‘release’ the seal on my stomach to bring out this other personality that apparently was sealed in to my while I still lived in Kusabana. I’m going to take on her form to hide myself from him. But why?_ “Why was Amarante-san sealed in to me in the first place? Why was she a danger to the village?”

I heard him sigh. “She made a pact with a demon. She gained immortality and powers in return for sharing her soul with him.”

I nodded, still processing all of this. “So… What do we do now?”

“We release the seal.”


	21. Enter: Amarante

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So things are little less confusing, but I hope that they're easy enough to figure out without reading my little note here:
> 
> If words are in italics, those are thoughts of the personality that is in front.  
> Italics and bold, thoughts of the inner personality,  
> Bold, the inner personality is speaking through the outer personality.  
> If they look normal, then they are normal. Can always message me or comment if you have questions.
> 
> Thank you!

Name: Amarante (Ran)

Meaning: Flower that never fades (Orchid)

Gender: Female

Race: Half human/half demon

Age: 27 (mind) 13 (body)

Birth date: November 18

Height: 142.24 cm

Weight: 24 kg

\- Ninja Information -

Status: Missing nin (was jounin)

Notes: Perfect Chakra Control

\- Taijutsu: Demon gives her massive strength

\- Genjutsu: Hates it with a passion

\- Ninjutsu: Will use them until she gets pissed off. She has access to Rai's healing jutsus.

\- Blood: Mixed with a demon's, Kohana blood

\- Ninja Weapon Mastered: Kunai, shuriken

\- Mission Experience: A-12 B-21 C-18 D-28

\- Special Move: Can release the power from the seal that is on the body she borrowed from Rai.

-Other-

\- Family: All deceased

\- Birthplace: Kusabana

\- Status: Missing Nin

\- Pets: Kohei (Rough-Legged Hawk)

\- Physical Description -

\- Hair Style: Shoulder length, light brown, blonde in sun

\- Eyes: Brown

\- Body: Slender

\- Marks: Seal on stomach that shows when Rai and Ran share power, mimics Rai's permanent one; tattoo of "orchid" kanji on back of right shoulder

-Personality-

\- Likes: Being strong, laughing, training

\- Dislikes: People getting her mad

\- Fears: People finding about Rai

\- Goals: Get the right back to her own body

\- Occupation: Missing Nin

\- Most Prized Possession (important or emotional value): Kohei

I groaned softly as I brought a hand up to my forehead. I tried to open my eyes but my vision swam and everything was blurry. I pushed myself up in to a sitting position, but instantly regretted and lay back down on the carpeted floor.

Wait a second… Carpet?

The last thing I remember, a cell… It was cold and this place was warm.

I tried to open my eyes again. It was still blurry but I could start to make out some things. It was sunny.

Sunny? The cell was underground, so why would there be sun?

“Amarante-san?”

My eyes shot open, ignoring the pain of the bright light and blurriness that was slowly fading away. “Who… who’s there?”

“Amarante-san, you have been brought out of the seal in to a borrowed body.”

I sat up, looking up at an old man that I recognized… kind of. “Geeze, you geezer! You got old!”

The man adjusted the small hat on his head, bearing the Kusabana symbol, a single five-petal flower. After clearing his throat, he continued. “You have been asleep within a girl for the past thirteen years, of course I have aged. Do you remember?”

I thought back. “Not really. But who gives a shit?”

A throat cleared behind me. I turned to look. It was a shorter old man dressed in red and white robes, but I didn't recognize him. He wasn't part of Kusabana.

“Who are you, old man?” I asked, tilting my head slightly.

That was when a hand smacked me on the back of the head. “Pay your respects! That’s the Hokage!” the Kusabana Elder snapped at me.

“Eh… An old guy is an old guy to me, makes no difference what his title is.” I rubbed the back of my head, looking down. That’s when I noticed. “What the hell am I wearing?! These aren’t my clothes!”

I was in a short blue and green kimono over dark blue under armor, long blue fingerless gloves, and tall dark blue socks.

“Where is my corset and armor?!” I clenched my hands in to fists and glared at the Kusabana Elders, getting to my feet in the process. I could feel the familiar power coursing through my veins.

“They belong to the girl you borrowed the body from. The body you are in is not yours. It belongs to a girl called Rai, Kohana Rai. Your spirit was sealed in to her body to keep you in check. Your real body is back in Kusabana. We did make your clothes again.”

Another held out the bundle of clothes that he had been carrying this whole time. I accepted them with a big smile and a giggle, wrapping my arms around the precious bundle. “My clothes! My precious clothes!” I stopped for a second. “Where’s my familiar? Where is Kohei?” I glared again at the men.

“He is outside the building, waiting for you. He has been following around Rai, keeping an eye on her to make sure that you were okay.” The old man seemed uncomfortable.

I grinned. I knew he didn’t like Kohei because my hawk was my tie to my demon friend, Yakuza. He is the one I made a pact with a three- Nope, sixteen years ago.

**_So, you’re her._ **

I jumped, hearing the voice in my head.

“We forgot to warn you. Rai is still awake. She is not like you and was not sealed away like we sealed you.” He seemed proud to admit that she was nothing like me.

I couldn’t suppress the smirk that crossed my lips. I also couldn’t help the giggles and chuckles that were leaving my lips. Soon I was full out laughing, clutching the bundle of clothes to my chest. “You really think that I can’t change her? You really think that she’ll stay whoever the hell she is while she’s stuck inside me?”

 ** _I’m not as weak as you think._** The girl in my head was not happy, and I could feel my hand clench itself in anger.

I stared in amazement at my hand as it relaxed again.

“Rai is in full control. She is the dominant personality, not you. She can stop you if she has enough will.”

 ** _Through you, I can see. You are also here because my brother does not know who you are,_** the young girl spoke up.

“See? You can see ‘through me’? What the hell does that mean?” I was confused.

“The true owner of the body you possess, Rai, is blind because of her brother. Her brother is after her to finish her off, but we cannot afford to lose her.”

“Why? Why can’t you lose her? She’s just a girl from Kusabana, correct?”

“Wrong. She has pure Kohana blood.”

My eyes widened and I looked down at myself again. “So… This body I have… it can…?”

The man simply nodded.

**_According to them, there is none stronger with the blood._ **

I sighed. “I feel bad for you, hun.”

 ** _I still feel everything you do, and now I can see because of you. Please, take care of those who I have come to care for, or I will take over again,_** she threatened, her voice going a few steps lower.

“Ah hem!”

A throat clearing brought my attention to the Hokage again. “Yeah? What do you w-” I snapped before I was cut off. I touched my throat, finding myself unable to use my voice.

 **“Yes, Hokage-sama?”** Another female voice left my throat. It was light, almost like bells and very quiet. It was Rai’s voice.

The old man looked startled for a moment, but quickly recovered. “Amarante-san, while in Rai’s body, you will be participating in the Chuunin Exams. You will be fighting for Rai’s title, not your own, seeing as you have access to all of her techniques.”

I scoffed, “What kind of techniques does she use? Does she fight like me?”

“Ask her yourself. You can go home and your teammates for the exam will meet you there.”

“Yeah, yeah, yeah. See ya!” I started to walk out when I lost control for a moment. My body turned around and bowed deeply. Rai spoke then. **“Thank you for keeping me safe, Hokage-sama. Good day.”** I was then allowed control again and walked out.

Before I did anything, I ducked in to the bathroom and pulled on my own clothes and stuffed Rai’s clothing in the bag that mine had been in. The short corset revealed almost the entire seal on my stomach, well, Rai’s stomach. I sighed, realizing that it wouldn’t go away, and tied my Kusabana headband over my hips. Oh well. Slinging the bag over my shoulder, I listened to Rai’s directions to get out of the building.

 _So, what kind of techniques do you use?_ I asked in my head, hoping it would work.

**_I’m a genjutsu user and a healing specialist. As you can probably guess, being blind made me not very good at taijutsu._ **

I groaned at her words. _Seriously, genjutsu? Well, I’ll be making you stronger while training up my taijutsu. Sorry, hun. I hate genjutsu._

 ** _That’s fine. I want to get stronger._** I could feel her conviction behind the words.

I couldn’t help but grin. _Sweetheart, stick with me and you’ll get stronger than you can imagine._

Her reply was cut off as I walked straight in to the back of a taller boy. I fell flat on my back and glared at the ceiling, grumbling about stupid people standing in my way.

The boy turned around and I noticed another boy and a girl standing behind them.

I heard Rai gasp in my head. **_Neji-san, TenTen-san, Lee-san! What are they doing here?_**

The girl, TenTen, stepped forward and offered her hand to help me up. “Sorry about that, we didn’t see you there.”

I shook my head and took the offered hand, allowing TenTen to pull me to my feet. “No prob. I wasn’t paying attention.” I brushed off the cloth that covered my right leg, removing the dust that now coated it.

When I looked up again, the boy I ran into was staring at me. _Rai, who is this?_

 ** _Neji-san. These are my teammates. Neji-san is…_** she trailed off, not finishing her sentence. I still got the hint.

 _You like him!_ I received no response. “Can I help you, blind-boy?” I asked, kind of perturbed by his staring.

“Did you see a girl in there? Short black hair? Light blue eyes? About your height? Her name is Rai?” he asked, watching me for a response.

“Why? What is she to you?” I asked, placing my hands on my hips.

Lee stepped forward. “She’s our teammate and she went in a few hours ago. We were wondering if she was coming out soon.” He stood up straight and looked down at me with curiosity in his eyes.

I raised an eyebrow, and then smiled. “Yeah, I know her,” I answered.

Eyes widened. “Where is she?” TenTen asked.

“She was sent back to Kusabana for training. She won’t be home for a while. You know those Elders! Everything is now and everything takes a long time.” I chuckled.

They looked confused. “Elders? Kusabana?”

I sighed. “She was born in Kusabana. They wanted her back for a while, saying that her father didn’t teach her right and yadda, yadda, yadda, all that bullshit.”

Eyes widened even farther. “That can’t be, she wouldn’t leave without saying good bye.”

Neji crossed his arms, his white eyes boring in to my dark brown ones. “You’re lying.”

TenTen and Lee looked at their teammate and back at me. Their eyes narrowed and they stood up straighter.

I held up my hands in surrender. “Hey, hey, hey! Go ask the Hokage dude if you don’t believe me.”

One last glare and they headed inside the building.

 ** _I’m taking control for a second. I can teleport us home._** She sounded very upset.

 _Hey, Sweetheart, they can’t know that you are still here. Your brother will get to them,_ I tried to comfort her as our body disappeared in a breeze of petals.

**_I know._ **


	22. Enter: Yasuo & Kaemon

Name: Ookawa Yasuo

Meaning: River, Peaceful

Gender: Male

Race: Human

Age: 16

Birth date: May 24th

Height: 167 cm

Weight: 63.5 kg

**\- Ninja Information -**

Status: Jounin

Notes: Carries Kekkei Genkai

\- Taijutsu: Can take care of himself

\- Genjutsu: Specialist

\- Ninjutsu: Standard

\- Blood: "Joukei"

\- Ninja Weapon Mastered: Kusarigama

\- Mission Experience: A-2 B-9 C-16 D-24

\- Special Move: Has the ability to see ten seconds in to the future

**-Other-**

\- Family: Mother, father (deceased), younger brother, younger sister

\- Birthplace: Kusabana

\- Status: Employed Shinobi

\- Pets: None

**\- Physical Description -**

\- Hair Style: Shaggy blonde

\- Eyes: Gold

\- Body: Lanky

\- Marks: Tattoo of "peace" kanji on the back of his right shoulder

**-Personality-**

\- Likes: Likes to have fun, practical jokes, laughing

\- Dislikes: Pessimists, people who tell him he can't do something

\- Fears: To never be able to pull another joke

\- Goals: To find a girl who can see him through the jokes

\- Occupation: Shinobi

\- Most Prized Possession (important or emotional value): Necklace from his father

Name: Seishou Kaemon

Meaning: Energy, Joyful

Gender: Male

Race: Human

Age: 17

Birth date: December 12

Height: 175 cm

Weight: 72.5 kg

**\- Ninja Information -**

Status: Jounin

Notes: Carries Kekkei Genkai

\- Taijutsu: Average

\- Genjutsu: Can break it

\- Ninjutsu: Specialist

\- Blood: "Onsei"

\- Ninja Weapon Mastered: Katana

\- Mission Experience: A-12 B-14 C-15 D-32

\- Special Move: Has the ability to make him extremely persuasive

**-Other-**

\- Family: Father, mother, older sister (deceased)

\- Birthplace: Kusabana

\- Status: Employed Shinobi

\- Pets: Hana (Siamese cat)

**\- Physical Description -**

\- Hair Style: Shaggy black

\- Eyes: Red

\- Body: Solid and strong

\- Marks: Tattoo of "joy" kanji on back of right shoulder

**-Personality-**

\- Likes: Books, music, quiet

\- Dislikes: Yelling, annoying people

\- Fears: Not being able to settle down and have a family

\- Goals: Being able to retire in peace

\- Occupation: Shinobi

\- Most Prized Possession (important or emotional value): None known

“So, you two are the partners that have been assigned to keep me in line?”

The two males nodded.

“No ‘sensei’ in this play?” I asked, crossing my legs while resting them on top of Rai’s kitchen table. There were only there for a moment before Rai moved my body so that I was sitting up politely, my ankles crossed underneath the chair. “Rai! Stop doing that!” I snapped.

**_Feet off the table._ **

The two boys shared a look.

“No, we do not have a sensei. Our story is that our sensei was called out on an important, last minute mission. We have someone that will represent us at the exams, but only then. We are only here to make sure you stay in line and to keep Rai safe.” Kaemon uncrossed his arms and leaned slightly forward in his chair.

I leaned forward, resting my elbows on the table, laughing. “They really don’t trust me, do they?”

“Eh… Not really,” Yasuo answered, leaning back in his chair with his hands behind his head and his feet on the table.

**“Feet off the table, please,”** Rai’s voice said through my throat. I slapped my hand over my mouth, but Rai simply moved it back so it was resting on the table.

_I wish you would stop doing that._

She chuckled, **_I’d like to see you stop me._**

Yasuo raised an eyebrow. “So, Rai-chan, you can hear everything we are talking about?”

**“Yes.”**

Yasuo cracked a smile. “So are you in control or is Ran-chan?”

**“I am.”**

“Can you take your form, or are you stuck in Ran-chan’s?”

**“I can return to my form, but it is unsafe to do so.”**

A bell tinkling through the house and then a knock on the door interrupted our conversation.

I stood up of my own accord and went to answer the door. “Yeah, what do you want?” I asked, leaning against the doorframe and crossing my arm.

A silver-haired shinobi stood in front of me, looking a little confused.

“The Hokage had said you had changed, but I didn’t think you changed that much.” He leaned over, making it so his eyes were on the same level as mine.

I raised an eyebrow. “What are you doing?”

He chuckled. “So, this side of you can see, Rai?”

I shrugged. “Rai’s not here right now. It’s only me.”

**“How are you, Kashi-kun?”** Rai asked.

He raised an eyebrow. “Well, Amarante-san, seems like you weren’t entirely truthful.” I rolled my eyes. “So, Rai can hear everything that is going on.”

I nodded. “And see as well. Apparently when I take over, her eyes are healed.”

He nodded and stood up straight. “I see.”

We were silent for a few seconds and I could hear the two boys come up behind me.

“So, can I help you?”

“Ah, yeah. I’m Kakashi. I’m supposed to take your team and have you help train my team.” He gave me a closed eye smile, at least of what I could see.

“Yeah, right. I’m not training -”

**“Of course, Kashi-kun. I would be happy to.”**

I growled. _You better not do that in front of the brats._

**_Those ‘brats’ as you say are only a year younger than you._ **

_What are you talking about? I’m seventeen. Well, I was before they sealed me up. Now I’m fucking thirty._

**_Not in this body, you’re not._ **

I growled again. “Fine. Let’s get this over with. Just let me have some fun with this.”

He chuckled. “I think I can arrange that. You do have headbands of another village.”

I smirked. “I see where you’re going with this. Come on boys! Let’s go have some fun.”

Rai took over for a second, wrapping her hands around the wrists of the two boys and disappearing in a breeze of petals.

We appeared in what appeared to be a training field. In front of us, I could see three genin: a female with pink hair, a male with black hair, and a blonde boy.

None of them had realized our presence yet.

I giggled and clenched my fist, feeling the power of my demon half coursing through my veins. “This’ll be fun!” I slammed my fist in to the ground, feeling the tremor rumble under my feet, spreading through the earth like a large earthquake.

Needless to say, that got their attention.

“Hey! Who’re you?!” the blonde boy yelled, pointing a finger at us.

“We’re here to play,” I giggled, standing up straight, brushing the dirt off of my one glove. “You’re going to let us play, right?”

The other boy stood, and slowly approached us, the female falling behind him. I could sense my two boys on either side of me, Yasuo cracking his knuckles while Kaemon simply crossed his arms.

“Who do you two pick?” I asked the two boys.

“I pick the Uchiha,” Yasuo called.

“I call Blondie,” Kaemon spoke up.

I chuckled. “I guess that leaves me with Pinkie! Let’s get to it!”

The three of us disappeared in a blur, confusing the younger generation. They looked around for about two seconds before the three of us moved in on our targets.

I appeared two inches in front of Pinkie’s face. I watched her eyes go wide which made my grin go wider.

“Boo!” I whispered before flipping over her head, digging my hand in to her long hair as I went over. Twisting in midair, I had her stuck almost in a backbend as she tried to pull my hand out of her hair. I merely chuckled at her weak attempts. What I didn’t notice was the black-haired boy chucking a kunai in my direction. If I hadn’t leaned back, letting go of Pinkie, I would have ended up without a nose.

“Hey! Yasuo! Keep your boy busy!” I yelled, giving Pinkie time to get back to her feet.

When I looked back, there were now three Pinkies. I couldn’t help but chuckle.

“You think that I’ll actually fall for that one?”

“You never know,” all three of them retorted at the same time.

I gave a wide smirk before disappearing again.

The three of them looked around, confused as to where I had gone.

“Gotcha!”

I now had three of me and each clone pulled back on the arms of a Pinkie. The pain of the awkward position made the two clones disappear, the real one falling to her knees. Holding her two wrists in one hand, I pulled a kunai out and held it to her jugular.

“Guess what, Pinkie? I win, you lose. And if you look around, your teammates have also lost.”

Yasuo had his hand on the Uchiha’s head, whispering in his ear about the horrors Yasuo was making him see through the genjutsu.

Kaemon was chuckling as he watched Blondie try to get free from the vines binding him by Kaemon’s jutsu.

“Wh-Who are you?” she stuttered.

“Me? I’m Amarante, or Ran. Blondie is Yasuo, and the last guy is Kaemon. We’re here to train you.” I broke out in a large grin as I released her from my grip.

“What?!” I heard Blondie scream. “Why did you attack us then?” I heard him yell again as he hit the ground, finally released from Kaemon’s jutsu.

I heard Yasuo giggling while removing the genjutsu from the Uchiha’s mind.

I shrugged, lacing my hands behind my head. “Wanted to see what you were made of. Plus, it was more fun than just saying, ‘Hi, I’m Ran’.” I fell silent for a moment, watching the forest. Then a big grin broke across my face before letting out a long, high-pitched whistle.

The scream of a hawk answered my call as my beloved Kohei flew in to the clearing.

I held out my gloved arm for the bird, grinning like an idiot as he landed as gently as he could. I plopped a smooch on the side of his head. “I’ve missed you!”

**_Don’t give yourself away!_ **

_Relax, I’m not that stupid._

Sakura looked a little disturbed at the sight of my much-missed bird. Hey, I haven’t seen him in thirteen years!

“Whoa! You have a bird?” Blondie came bounding in front of me.

I laughed. “This is Kohei.”

I watched as Kohei lifted himself off of my arm and landed on Blondie’s head. The bird leaned forward, looking at the boy upside-down. Blondie’s eyes widened and his jaw opened slightly in wonder. Kohei simply pecked at his headband, tied around his forehead. Blondie giggled as I tilted my head back in laughter.

Sakura smiled as well, slowly reaching up and stroking Kohei’s feathers. He cocked his head and clicked his beak, then he snapped at the girl. She pulled her hand back in shock.

“Why doesn’t he like me?”

I smirked. “He’s not your average hawk. He’s –”

A gloved hand smacked over my mouth, startling me and making my eyes widen. I started yelling at the man whose hand was over my mouth, the foul words muffled by the hand.

“Watch your language,” the jounin drawled, his one eye showing gave away that he was smiling under his mask.

I ripped his hand away from my mouth. Eh, I guess Kakashi didn’t want me to tell them that Kohei only liked those that had demon energy, seeing as he was a hawk demon. I grinned before stepping away from the jounin. “So, what’s on the agenda today?” I asked, lacing my fingers behind my head.

“Well, you have already done your sparring, is there something you guys want to work on?”

“What rank are you?” the black-hair boy asked, standing right behind me.

I glanced over my shoulder. “Genin, why?”

The three real genin looked confused. “Then what was that big rumbling before you guys fought us? How are you guys so good?”

I heard the two boys chuckling on either side of me, appearing seemingly out of thin air from where they were standing twenty meters away.

The young males and female looked a little shocked again, amazed by the speed of which my companions moved.

“We’re not from around here,” Kaemon said simply, crossing his arms across his chest.

Yasuo giggled. “Kusabana only sends shinobi to the Chuunin exams every five years. That’s why Kaemon and I are so much older than Ran-chan.”

Pinkie’s eyes widened. “How old are you?”

“Seventeen.” Kaemon turned his eyes to the sky, watching a group of birds fly over.

“Sixteen! Cool, right?” Yasuo gave the young children a thumbs-up and a big grin.

“Thirteen,” I answered, simply, “and I’m stronger than them,” I couldn’t help but add.

“What do you mean?” Blondie asked, “You’re a girl and three years younger.”

My constant smile disappeared and became a frown. “Kusabana doesn’t like female shinobi. We **have** to be stronger for them to notice us. The earthquake at the beginning of our match? That was me.” I shifted my weight slightly and dropped my hands to my sides, resting one hand on the hip that was covered in armor.

“Really?! You made the earthquake?” Blondie asked again, his blue eyes now right in front of me as his face was a couple centimeters away.

I raised an eyebrow. “Personal space, much?”

This was when I noticed that Pinkie had flames around her and her eyes had gone white in anger.

“Turn around, Blondie. You pissed someone off.” I couldn’t help but smirk at the boy’s misfortune.

He turned around, looking confused. Finally, he noticed Pinkie. “Heh, heh, heh, Sakura-chan?” He gave a nervous looking smile.

“Ran, move to the left,” I heard Yasuo say. I looked him and noticed his gold eyes had gone flat, so I quickly moved out of the way.

Not a moment too soon. Right where I was standing, Blondie was thrown and pummeled by the now named Sakura.

I snickered and pulled the female off of her teammate. “Cool it, Pinkie. You get used to men looking down on you after a while.” As I placed her on her feet a few meters away from the young boy. A smirk broke out on my face. “That’s when you learn to do this.” I leapt several meters in to the air, bringing my fist back and channeling my demon blood. I slammed the powered-up-punch in the ground, feeling the ground vibrate and give in several centimeters. What I didn’t mention? I was only half a meter away from Blondie.

The young boy scrambled away, crawling backwards like a crab. “Okay, I believe you now!”

I heard the jounin chuckle, finally speaking up. “I guess we will just keep sparring today.”

I chuckled, standing up straight and cracking my knuckles. “Excellent.”


	23. Meeting Kuranai's Team

“Ran-san, please get up.”

I rolled over in the bed, stuffing my head underneath the pillow.

The female voice spoke again. “Ran-san, it’s time to get up.”

“Meh! Go away!” I curled up in to a ball, pulling the blankets taught around me and tugging the pillow tighter around my head.

The female sighed. “Ran-san, you were assigned to this and you knew it was coming. You were warned last night. You have one more chance to get up of your own accord, otherwise the methods I will resort to will not be your first choice.”

I groaned, but didn’t move.

“I’ll take care of it.”

A pair of male arms scooped me out of the oh-so-comfortable bed, blanket and all, the pillow falling off of my head.

“What are you doing?” I grumbled, barely opening my eyes to look at the unknown male.

He gave me a quick fanged grin. “This.”

He dropped me against a cold surface. I gripped my head from where it banged against something hard just before I was doused with a spray of ice-cold water.

“You bastard!” My eyes flashed gold as I leapt out of the tub, wide-awake now.

The male held his hands up in front of him in a sign of surrender. “Hey, hey. Let’s not do anything you’ll regret later, all right?”

**_Breathe, Ran-san._** Rai’s quiet voice was chanting in the back of my head.

I didn’t want to follow her advice. But as I noticed that the boy was still backing away from me, I closed my eyes and counted my breaths. _In, out. In, out…_ Once I was sure my eyes weren’t gold anymore, I opened them again and relaxed my stance.

The male dropped his hands and stuffed them in his pockets. “Didn’t think it would piss you off that bad. I’m Inuzuka Kiba, by the way,” he told me with a grin.

I shook my head. “Is that the way you introduce yourself to someone you don’t know?”

“I know you. Kuranai-sensei told us about you yesterday,” he answered as we headed back in to the bedroom that Rai used to call her own.

I cracked a smirk. “Everything?” I couldn’t help make my eyes flash gold again.

He shrugged as he pushed open the bedroom door to reveal two females and another male.

As I rummage through the closet for my clothes, I speak to the sensei. “So, you told them about me, how much did you say?”

Kuranai raised an eyebrow. “You are from Kusabana; age thirteen; genin; two partners, Kaemon and Yasuo; taijutsu specialist; is there anything I missed?”

I grinned. “Nope, not a thing.” I put the final pieces of clothing in place, slipping on the armor. “So, what are we doing today?” I asked, leading the way out in to the living room.

“Well, we heard you like to spar.”

My grin grew wider. “Excellent.”

_Why are we doing this?_

**_Feel lucky that this is actually how I fight. Left!_ **

I swung a blind fist out to my left, feeling it connect with yet another bug clone.

When I say blind, I mean blind. They had tied dark cloth around my eyes after they had seen the advantage I had over the three true genin.

_Guess I kind of scared them._

**_You think?_ **

Rai took over and made our body duck as a punch sailed over our head before I pushed our body in to a donkey-kick, nailing my heels in to the stomach of the dog-boy.

“Okay! I think we can call it quits,” the female sensei called.

I stood up straight, ripping the bindings off of my eyes. _How do you deal with it?_

**_You get used to it after a while._ **

I shook my head and let out a sharp whistle, calling out to my lovable bird. Needless to say, he didn’t like anyone from this group of genin. He settled lightly on my shoulder as I headed to where the three genin had collapsed alongside their sensei. I grinned at their state. “Did I go a little too hard?”

Kuranai shook her head. “No, they should know what they would be up against at the Chuunin Exams.”

I grinned. “Don’t worry, I’m the best in my team-”

“Well, that’s a relief,” Kiba sighed.

My grin widened. “- at taijutsu,” I finished. “Kaemon’s a ninjutsu expert, and Yasuo can trap anyone in his genjutsu. It’s been said that he can be put on par with Uchiha Itachi.” I crossed my arms, settling my weight to the side.

“We’re screwed,” Kiba groaned.

Hinata and Shino could only nod in agreement.

I could only smirk.


	24. Left Alone... Again

“Seriously? You left me alone with the last group as well! They had me fight blind and one-against-three!” I crossed my arms and glared at the two boys.

Yasuo held up his hands in defense. “Gomen! It’s not our fault!”

Kaemon sighed, leaning against the wall in the kitchen.

“But- but- but- all they’re doing today is D-rank missions! I’m going to go bonkers!!!” I ranted, taking to pacing back and forth across the room.

Kaemon rolled his eyes. “You’ll be fine. We’ll meet up with you at the end of the day with training the kids. Besides, it’s a good refresher for you to get along with us ‘normal’ humans.” He let a small smirk cross his lips for a brief moment, before going back to its normal stoic appearance.

I pursed my lips. “You piss me off sometimes, you know that?”

He and Yasuo both gave a curt nod. Yasuo couldn’t help but let out a giggle, “It wouldn’t be any fun if we didn’t. See ya!” The two males disappeared in a breeze of flower petals.

“Seriously, that disappearing trick is too girly for the two of them.”

**_I agree._ **

I couldn’t help but chuckle at Rai’s words. I have to say, for being so different, the two of us were getting along famously. We fought well together, communicated well (not that I could hide anything from her), and she hardly took over anymore for random things.

A bell jingling throughout the house caught my attention and brought me out of my thoughts just as a knock sounded on the door.

**_That must be Asuma-san’s team._ **

_They’re late._

**_You weren’t ready anyway._ **

_True._

I pulled the door open and stepped out of the house, locking the door behind me before facing the team I would be working with today.

I couldn’t help but sigh as I looked over the team I was working with today. “Okay, let’s get this over with.” I led the way to the training field, lacing my fingers together behind my head. “So, you guys already know me. I’m Ran. Who’re you?”

“Yamanaka Ino.” Blondie crossed her arms, seeming slightly cross.

I raised an eyebrow. “Who put a bee in your panties?”

The three males quickly stifled their chuckles before the blonde could turn on them.

Her eyes went white and flames grew behind her. Not that I noticed, seeing as I had continued walking and left her standing there.

“Okay, boys, what are your names?”

“Nara Shikamaru.”

“Akamichi Chouji.”

I cracked a smirk. “So ‘Sensei’? What are we doing today?”

“We were planning on working on some balance exercises. How does that sound?”

“Sounds good to me!” I turned around and started walking backwards while watching the group.

“Really? Why do we have to do that?” Chouji asked.

“Because the three of you need some work,” the sensei answered dully.

I giggled. “I’m sure Kohei would be very happy to help us out.”

“Kohei?” the lone female asked.

“My hawk!” I let out a sharp whistle, calling my beloved bird to me. Holding out my arm that was covered in a thick fingerless glove, he rested himself quite happily. “Hello, deary!”

He clicked his beak in greeting.

“You ready to help us train?”

I swear, that bird can grin.

“Come on, guys! You can do better than that!” I called to the genin way behind me.

We were in a field full of bamboo poles stuck in the ground, sticking up about eight feet and about two feet apart in each direction.

The genin were having problems keeping up with me, so I had to keep backtracking to regroup.

And of course that damn bird was having the time of his life. Asuma had felt compelled to tie tiny knives in to the bird’s feathers and give him a kunai that the bird could randomly drop on us. The bird would randomly dive-bomb the genin, slicing their skin with the sharp knives.

I couldn’t help but laugh out loud as I watched the genin struggle across the field. I was tempted to stop just to watch them.

“Okay! Let’s call it quits for this round!” Asuma called, comfortable under the tree as he was.

I landed silently on the ground along with Ino and Shikamaru. Let’s just say that Chouji wasn’t as graceful.

“This ‘round’?” Chouji whined, grabbing his stomach. “I want to eat.”

“We’ll eat after the next exercise.”

“So, what are we doing?” Ino asked, crossing her arms.

“Ran-san is going to go by herself, and we are going to play the enemy. The three of you have to prevent her from getting across the field. If you fail, we’re getting a vegetarian meal tonight. But no knocking over the poles.”

Chouji went pale.

The biggest grin of the day burst across my face. “Yeah! Now I get to show you what I really can do.”

We headed to our places. I stood, balanced on two poles, ready to take off at the signal.

The genin were scattered around me, focusing on how to trap me.

Heh heh. Good luck.

Asuma called it and I took off, leaping from pole to pole, dodging the kunai that Ino was throwing my way.

I could see Shikamaru’s shadow stretching towards my shadow, hoping to trap me in his Kagemane jutsu.

“Fail!” I yelled, really kicking it up a notch. I let some of the demon power flow in to my legs, giving me a boost of energy.

Do I really need to describe the rest of the scene for you to know the outcome?

I win. Yay me!


	25. Enter: Sunagakure

“Naruto! You’re going to be late if you don’t get up this second!” I kicked the blonde boy that was still out cold in his bed.

“Wha?” He sat up, still bleary eyed.

I sighed. “Come on! We have to meet Kakashi soon.” I worked at pulling him out of the bed. “Get up! Eat! Let’s go!” That’s when I physically lifted him and threw him in to the bathroom.

After forcing a quick breakfast down his throat and locking the door, we ran to go meet the rest of the team.

And of course, he had to scream as he went:

“Yaa!! I’m going to kick ass on today’s mission!! Uwaa!! Mach 5!!”

“You idiot!” I smacked him on the back of the head, never missing a beat.

The two teammates looked up as we approached. “Hey, everybody!” I called as we slowed down to halt.

“Good morning!! Sakura-chan!!”

“Oh!” Sakura spoke in surprise.

The gazes of the two males met for a mere second before they turned away, leaving Sakura and me to roll our eyes and sigh in annoyance.

I made myself comfortable on the ground, my back against the wall, hoping to catch a quick nap before the sensei showed up.

My quick nap turned in to a three-hour snooze when the jounin FINALLY decided to show his face. I woke up to the three students screaming, “Stop lying with a straight face! Give it a rest!”

Kakashi merely blinked at his genin.

I let out a long yawn, rising from my place against the wall. _Finally…_

“Hey! Hey! Kakashi-sensei! Lately all of our Team Seven missions have been too easy! I want a more, you know, hot one! Where I can shine! That follows my ninja path! And my heart, like-”

“Yeah, yeah,” the jounin sighed, seemingly already tired of dealing the numbskull. “I pretty much already know what you’re going to say.”

At least Kakashi interrupted his tirade. But now, the boy had settled for glaring at Sasuke.

Also, he didn’t notice that the rest of us at started heading out. “Hey, Naruto!” I called, “What are you doing? Let’s go!”

That snapped him back in to his head. “Oh, yeah!”

“You are really annoying today!” Sakura screamed, hitting the boy on the head.

_This isn’t going to be a good day._

And I was right. When we were done, Naruto had to be carried back to the center of the village.

“It’s because you push yourself too much,” Sakura scolded, pulling the kid’s arm further across her shoulders.

“Sakura, hun, let me take him.” I didn’t give her a chance to reply. I simply swung the boy over my shoulders in to a fireman’s carry. I couldn’t help but laugh at the boy as he yelled at me that he could walk just fine.

Sasuke scoffed. “Can’t take care of yourself?”

That set Naruto over the edge. He started struggling like mad. Just before I took a knee to the head, I simply dropped the boy flat on the ground. Of course, he didn’t take notice. He simply stood up and started yelling at his rival. “God damn it!” he hollered.

I shook my head as Sakura started yelling at Blondie and, of course, the Uchiha had to throw in his two yen to piss Naruto off even more.

“Hmm,” the jounin mumbled, “Teamwork seems to be lacking lately.”

Then, our eyes were drawn up towards the bird-of-prey flying overhead, before trading a glance. I nodded, letting him know silently that I would watch his team.

“Okay, that’s it for today,” he spoke up, ending the arguing for the moment. “I have to go submit this mission report.”

Sasuke quickly started walking away, definitely not wanting anything to do with his teammates. “Then, I’m going home.”

You could almost see the light-bulb pop out of Sakura’s head. “Oh! Hey, Sasuke-kun, wait. How about right now we work on our teamwork, just the two of us?”

Sasuke threw her a glare. “You’re the same as Naruto. If you have time to bother me, go practice a jutsu or two. Frankly, your ability is below Naruto.” And with those words, he stalked off.

Pinkie looked like he had just kicked her puppy.

“Sakura-chan, forget Sasuke! Let’s train together!” Naruto called to the crestfallen girl, saddened when she ignored him.

Kakashi simply shook his head, and poofed away.

This caught Naruto’s attention. “Huh?” He looked quickly back and forth, before he had a creepy smile cross his face.

I raised an eyebrow at the odd child then shook my head as he shouted to the sky. Then, something odd caught my eye. _Who would fall for a square rock?_

Naruto seemed to notice it as well. “I act like I’m looking forward, but feint! What kind of rock is square with two holes? I see right through that!” he yelled at the box.

I winced slightly. “They’re not that far away from you. Don’t need to scream,” I grumbled.

I watched, not amused, while three children climbed up from underneath the fake rock.

“That’s the man I view as my rival!” one of them screamed.

Naruto lost all enthusiasm then, looking almost bored. “Oh, it’s you, Konohamaru.” He took another look at the kids. “Huh? What’s with the goggles?”

I crossed my arms and raised an eyebrow as the boy grinned. “We’re copying the old you, Bro!”

“Ahh.” I rolled my eyes at the idiot’s nonchalant response.

“What do you mean ‘ah’? Hey! You’re so cold lately, Bro!” Konohamaru yelled, pointing his finger at the older male.

Naruto shrugged it off. “So, what do you want?”

The young girl spoke up this time, acting shy. “Um, Leader? Are you free?”

He grinned. “Nope! I’m training with Ran-chan!”

I knew there was a reason I was sticking around.

The kids didn’t take it as well. “What! But you said you’d play ninja with us today! Hey!”

My eyebrow quirked in irritation. “Play ninja?” I growled.

Seems that my sentiments were echoed when Sakura made herself known. “Um, why would a ninja ‘play’ ninja?” I couldn’t help but chuckle at the fear that was apparent on Naruto’s face.

“Hey Bro!” Konohamaru yelled. Seems that people in this town like to yell for no reason. “Who’s this girl?” he asked, gesturing towards Sakura. Realization seemed to dawn on the boy. “Not bad, Bro!”

All three of us stared at the boy like he had three heads as he gave a twisted smirk.

“She’s your… This!” He stuck up his little finger.

I burst out laughing. This twerp thought that Naruto and Sakura were a couple. This was hilarious! It was even better when the idiot agreed with him, making the perfect opportunity for Sakura to nail a nice right hook in to his jaw, throwing him in to the wall beside me.

Konohamaru leapt to the orange ninja’s aid. “No! Leader! Don’t die!” He turned his glare on to the pinkie. “You ugly bitch!”

I laughed harder. “You’re dead, twerp!” I stuck my tongue out at him.

After the thorough beating, leaving bumps on his head, Konohamaru just couldn’t leave it alone. “Damn it! That ugly huge forehead is really a girl? Seriously, Bro?”

I laughed again as Sakura chased them around, until the twerp ran in to something. Or someone.

“That hurt.”

I fell silent and tensed at the sight of the two sand nin.

“Konohamaru!” both Naruto and I called as he was lifted off of the ground by the male.

The female glanced around. “Don’t, we’ll get yelled at later.”

This confused me. _They’re afraid of something?_ I smirked. _This will be easy._

I watched as Sakura turned meek, hoping to appeal. “I’m sorry, I was messing around.”

Naruto took a different approach. “Hey, fat ass! Let go of him!” I shook my head.

The male gave his companion a look as he smirked. “Let’s play a little before the boss comes.”

I growled as Naruto bolted towards the male. “Bastard!”

Out of nowhere, Naruto seemed to trip.

“Leaf genins are weak,” the male growled.

I laughed. “Good thing I’m not from Konoha, then!”

**_Don’t kill them._ **

_Don’t worry, I won’t._ I flipped a kunai around my fingers.

“What did you say?”

I smirked at the male.

He scoffed. “Where the fuck are you from?”

I shrugged. “Why should I tell you?” I taunted, sticking my tongue out at him.

“Hey! You fat pig!” Naruto yelled, interrupting as usual. “If you don’t let him go I’ll make you pay! Fat ass! Pig!” I pulled a face palm as Sakura got him in a headlock.

“Hey. You’re annoying,” the male spoke. He shrugged. “Basically, I hate midgets. Especially younger ones that are rude. Makes me want to kill them.” He held up his fist.

Sakura, Naruto, and I tensed, ready to dive at the male.

The blonde girl shrugged. “Oh well, I’m not involved.”

The boy smirked. “After this one I’ll take care of that other annoying midget.” His fist went back and flew towards the child.

Naruto dove, Sakura screamed, and I simply smirked as sharp stone flew from a nearby tree, nailing the sand genin in the wrist, forcing him to drop the child.

“What are you bastards doing in our village?” Sasuke asked, perched on a low branch, another stone at the ready.

“Sasuke-kun!” Pinkie called, almost squealing with delight.

“Uh…” Naruto couldn’t have been less thrilled at the arrival of his rival.

“Nice shot!” I called up to the younger male, giving him a salute.

Glancing back at the sand genin, I could see a blush forming on female’s face. _She likes him._

The male settled for a glare. “Ah, another guy that pisses me off.”

Konohamaru took the chance to run back to his teammates as Sasuke watched from up above. “Get lost,” the Uchiha called.

“Kyaaa!!! So cool!! Get him, Sasuke-kun!!” I couldn’t help but roll my eyes at Pinkie. Know that Rai was doing the exact same thing.

“Naruto, you suck, bro. I believed in you.” Well, Konohamaru wouldn’t be chasing after Naruto any time soon.

“No, dummy! I could easily defeat that guy!” Naruto had to defend his honor.

The male sand genin brought our attention back to him as he yelled up at Sasuke. “Hey punk! Get down here!” The two boys glared at each other “I hate show-offs like you the most.” He released the straps on a bandage-wrapped object from his back, placing it at his side.

“Are you going to use Karasu?” The blonde sand ninja seemed fearful of something.

“Kankuro, stop it.”

The voice sent chills down our spines, a cold sweat breaking out on my skin. _What the hell is that?_

A redhead was hanging upside down on the branch, pale green eyes glaring down at his teammates, I’m guessing.

_How the hell did I not notice him? What the hell is on his back?_ My eyes scanned the giant… thing strapped to his back.

“You’re an embarrassment to our village,” he said to the now-deemed Kankuro.

“Ga-Gaara,” Kankuro stuttered, looking slightly nervous.

“Losing control of yourself in a fight, how pathetic. Why do you think we came to the Leaf Village?” Gaara’s eyes narrowed.

Kankuro seemed to grow more on edge. “Listen Gaara, they started it and-“

“Shut up. I’ll kill you.” The look in the boy’s eyes gave no indication that he was kidding. He really would kill Kankuro.

_Shit, this kid is no joke._

Kankuro started to shake and sweat. “Okay, I’m sorry.”

The blonde girl was nervous as well. “I’m also sorry. Really sorry,” she insisted.

Gaara then looked at Sasuke. “Sorry to you guys.” Then he disappeared in a whirl of wind. He reappeared in between his two teammates. “It looks like we got here too early, but we didn’t come here to play around.”

Kankuro took a step back away from the smaller boy. “I know that.”

Gaara turned away from us, and the pressure from his gaze lifted, making it easier to breath. “Let’s go.”

**_What the hell is he?_** Rai asked, sounding just as distressed as I was feeling.

_You know how I’m half demon. He’s whole demon._ It was the only thing that I could come up with, the only reason that it would cause the two of us to feel this way.

“Hey wait!!”

_That damn Pinkie…_

“What?” Gaara asked, turning back to look at Sakura.

“Judging from your forehead protectors, you guys are ninjas from the Hidden Sand Village, right?” Her features grew a little harder. “You may be allies with the Leaf Village, but it is forbidden to enter each other’s village without permission. State your purpose. Depending on it, we may not be able to let you go.”

The blonde female pulled a small pass containing a card with her information. “Hey, talk about clueless. Don’t you know anything?”

“What do you mean?” I asked, resting my hands on my hips. _Don’t tell me they’re here for the exam._

**_My guess is they are._ **

“Pinkie is right,” the girl, Temari from what I saw of her pass, “We are genin from the Hidden Sands. We have come to your village to take the Chuunin Selection Exam.”

Apparently this confused Naruto. “Chuunin Selection Exam?”

I could almost see Temari face-palm. I ignored her as she went in to an explanation of the exam. I used this time to examine the three sand genin. All three of them had something strapped to their back. Gaara had some sort of gourd strapped to his back with symbols on it. Kankuro, I’m guessing it’s a puppet, especially with the use of chakra stings on Naruto earlier. Temari’s was a little harder to get, before I realized it was a fan. _Guess she’s a wind user._

“Hey, Konohamaru! Think I should enter this Chuunin Exam… thing?” Naruto asked, turning to his younger companion.

“You bastard! You asked the question, listen ‘til the end!” Temari yelled, waving a fist at the nimrod in orange.

Sasuke must have thought it was a good time to leave the tree as he appeared between Sakura and me. I rested an elbow on his shoulder, the two of us still on high alert.

“Hey you, what’s your name?” Sasuke asked.

“Huh? You mean me?” Temari asked, the blush from earlier returning.

“No, you with the gourd.”

This seemed to be a surprise to the two Sand genin males.

“Sabaku no Gaara. I’m also interested in the two of you, your names?”

Sasuke and I looked at each other before I shrugged.

“It’s Uchiha Sasuke.”

“Amarante of Kusabanagakure no Sato. Just call me Ran.”

Naruto, I guess, was feeling a little left out. “Hey! What about me?! Huh!”

“Not interested. Let’s go,” Gaara said to his teammates. I couldn’t help but laugh at how defeated Naruto looked as the three foreign ninjas flitted away.

“Konohamaru, do I look weak?” he asked, kneeling down in front of his younger friend.

“Weaker than Sasuke and Ran-san, yes.”

Well that sparked a fight between the two. While the two boys were fighting, I couldn’t help but notice the three figures in the tree. _More foreign ninja. I wonder how this going to go._

**_I’m sure we can do this together._ **

_I have no doubt about that, but I’m kind of worried about the others._

**_They growing on you?_ **

_No way in hell!_ With that, I grabbed the back of Naruto’s shirt. “C’mon, Naruto, I feel like some target practice.”

“So why do I have to go?” he whined, trying to dislodge my hand.

“You’re the target.”


	26. Start of the Exams

The day had arrived, the day of the Chuunin Exams. Yasuo and Kaemon flanked me on both sides as we headed up through the second floor. We were on our way to the third floor, room number 301.

“Hah! You plan to take the Chuunin Exam with that?! You should quit now! You’re just a little kid!”

The annoying voice came accompanied with the thud of someone hitting the floor. The sign above their heads reading 301, though we were still on the second floor.

“Please let us through!”

**_TenTen! Can you help them?_** Rai pleaded.

_Yeah, yeah, yeah. Will do,_ I responded, knowing that she would take over if I didn’t. I managed to catch Rai’s friend as she was thrown back from a hit. “You nimrods,” I growled.

TenTen looked up. “Hey, you’re-“

“Yeah, I’m doing a favor for your friend. She made me promise.”

This made Team Gai look up at me. “Why?” Lee asked.

“Just head upstairs. Trust me.”

“Why should we?” Neji asked, crossing his arms.

“’Cause Rai would have my head.” I turned to the two idiots in front of the door they had been trying to enter. They were still rambling on. “Will you two idiots stuff it? You’re annoying,” I said, my eyes narrowing at the pair.

“Remove this surrounding created with Genjutsu. I’m going to third floor.” I wasn’t expecting Sasuke to show up behind me with the rest of his team.

“This is why I hate Genjutsu,” I whined towards the younger boy. “It makes nothing look like the way it should.”

“Ah, so you noticed?” one of the idiots in front of the door said.

“Sakura, you must have noticed first, right?”

“Huh?”

“Your analytical ability and genjutsu know-how is the most improved on our team.” Sasuke gave the pinkette a small smirk.

She smiled back at him. “Of course, I noticed a while ago. This is only the second floor.”

“Yup!” And of course, Naruto had to add in his two yen.

There was a warp-like feeling, and then the room sign above us now read 201.

Something was about to happen, the annoying boy was moving. “Hmm, not bad. But all you did was see through it!” He swung a high kick at Sasuke and the Uchiha was returning it. With two more blurs, the kicks were stopped. Lee was holding on to Sasuke’s leg and I had taken the annoying kid’s leg and pushed it up while pushing him backwards, pinning him against the wall in an uncomfortable position before letting him drop to the floor.

“Hey, what happened to the plan? You’re the one who said we shouldn’t draw attention to ourselves.” Neji drew closer to Lee, trying to keep his voice low.

“Well…” Lee cast a glance at Sakura, a blush coming to his face.

_Hah! This is priceless. Your teammate has a crush on Pinkie!_

**_Why am I not that surprised?_** Her voice sounded slightly distant.

_Hey, kiddo, what’s up?_ I started to head up the stairs leaving the younger ones behind, my fake teammates following closely.

**_I should be there with them. I should be with my team, not hiding._** I had to wipe at my eyes, tears gathering from Rai’s emotions flooding through me.

_Hey, the Elders decided that you’re more important than your teammates. They want to make sure that I keep you safe because they don’t want to lose you. You’re more important to them than anything else._

**_Yeah, but they’re not that important to me. They come in to my life from nowhere and dictate that I’m not capable enough to defend myself so they hide me away. It pisses me off! I don’t want to be hiding. I’m a lot stronger now than when Nii-san tried to kill me almost six years ago._ **

“You guys go in without me. I’ll be in later.” I waved off my teammates and headed down the hall.

“What’s up?” Kaemon asked, a worried look in his eyes.

“Something’s wrong with Rai,” I answered, not saying anything else.

“What’s wrong with Rai?”

Kaemon and Yasuo flinched at TenTen’s voice behind them. They turned to find both TenTen and Neji standing there.

“I thought Rai was in Kusabana,” Neji asked, crossing him arms and glaring at the two older boys.

The two pretend Kusabana genin looked at each other, and decided that it wasn’t worth it. They headed in to the room, leaving the Leaf genin behind.

“Hey, you didn’t answer the question!” TenTen called. She was worried about her friend. Why would Rai leave without saying goodbye? How do these people know that she’s in trouble when she’s supposed to be an almost two-day trip away? “Neji, we need to talk to Ran-san.”

He nodded. “Let’s go.”

_Rai, you need to accept that you need to make some sacrifices-_

**_No!_** Rai slammed a fist in to the wall, making the concrete crack underneath her hand.

_Hey! Calm down!_ She was starting to piss me off.

**_I should be there for them! I should be fighting with them! I shouldn’t be leaving them-_ **

_They’re going to be fine without you!_

**_But I lied to them! I didn’t say goodbye! I-_ **

“Sometimes you don’t get to say goodbye! Rai, you need to learn that you are more important to Kusabana then anything else. There would be no other reason for them to wake me up! Those idiot Elder-“

“So, Rai’s not in Kusabana?”

_Fuck! I was speaking out loud!_ I turned around at the familiar voice. Rai’s teammates, all three of them were standing in front of me with their arms crossed.

“What are you talking about? Of course, she is-“ I tried to cover.

“Cut the bullshit and tell us the truth!” Neji interrupted. Veins seemed to bulge out from around his eyes. “Your chakra system isn’t yours. It’s hers.”

**“I’m sorry! I wanted to tell you everything but-“**

I slammed a hand over my mouth as Rai’s voice came through my throat but she took control and removed it.

**“The Elders of Kusabana came to me and said that something was happening. They said that I needed to hide. They told me that there was nothing I could do but hide. So they woke up Ran-san to take care of me. I really wanted to tell you everything, but they are worried that you’ll get in trouble too.”** Rai’s voice was almost hysterical.

“So that’s why the ANBU took you away?” Lee asked.

I nodded, not Rai. “They are expecting something to happen, and soon. They didn’t want to take any chances.”

“But why would they want Rai? What is it about Rai that makes her that special?”

I gritted my teeth. “I’m not supposed to tell you anything, and Rai understands the fact that you aren’t supposed to know either. She wants to keep the three of you safe from what’s going to happen. So, for that to happen, the less you know, the better. When this is all over, we’ll tell you everything, okay?”

My vision faded out then and it took me a moment to realize why as I was pulled completely from control.

I brushed my short black hair from my face and I rubbed my hands together. It was odd being completely in control again without having to really think about it. I also had to block out Ran-san screaming at me in the back of my mind. I turned my blind eyes in the direction of my teammates. “I really am sorry. I should have told you everything, and I really want to-“

I was interrupted mid-sentence as TenTen threw her arms around me. “Do you know how much I missed you? Do you realize how scared we were when we couldn’t find you?”

Another pair of arms wrapped around me, Lee this time. “Whatever it is, we want to help protect you as well. You are our teammate.”

A hand came to rest on my shoulder. Neji was silent, though. But I couldn’t help but smile slightly even as tear ran down my face as I faded back in to my mind.

I opened my eyes as my vision came back. “Okay, enough of the sappiness! We have to get to the room or we’ll all be disqualified.” I pushed the younger genin away from me, smoothing my shoulder-length brown hair back in to place.

“Let’s go do this!” Lee cried, all fired up.

“Yeah!” TenTen and I cheered while Neji just made an agreeing noise.

“Sight of the target has been confirmed. Let him know that she is there.”

“How do we tell them which one she is?”

“He’ll probably recognize her from his past. But let them know to move in on the third round.”

“Yes, sir.”


	27. The First Exam

“My name is Uzumaki Naruto! I won’t lose to you bastards! You got that?!”

My teammates and I couldn’t help but face-palm as the idiot screamed throughout the room. _Naruto! You nimrod!_ I quickly made my way over to the three teams I had been working with these past couple weeks.

“Hey! What is he?!” Ino yelled at Sakura, as if blaming her for her idiot-teammate’s behavior.

“He’s too stupid to get down,” she deadpanned.

“You won’t lose to those bastards? Big words. Show-off,” Kiba laughed, officially declaring Naruto the biggest idiot in his mind.

“What a moron. He just turned everyone in to his enemy,” Shikamaru drawled.

I locked my arm around the orange-clad boy, pulling him down. “You’re a nimrod, you know that?” I hissed. I glared at the group that had been riled up from his yell, making sure that my eyes flashed gold and letting my demon half show a little. Most of the ninja sat down again. Yeah, you don’t want to mess with me!

“Ran-chan! You’re here-“

“Get down!” I called, pulling Naruto behind me as three sound ninjas came flying out from the large group, oddly heading for an older leaf genin wearing glasses. They swiped and swung at the boy, but he ducked and dodged, nearly being nailed by a right cross from this guy that looked like he was wearing a fur rug strapped to his back. The attack stopped after that, just as his glasses shattered. He didn’t seem too surprised.

“What’s going on? He dodged it, so why did his glasses…” Sasuke trailed off.

“It probably glanced his nose. That’s what you get for acting like a big shot!” Shikamaru declared, not that impressed.

Then the boy hunched over, emptying the contents of his stomach on the floor.

**_Those are sound ninja, right? That metal thing on his arm must have made sound waves that messed with his equilibrium and caused the vomiting. That’s why the glasses shattered; it was the right frequency,_** Rai explained, realizing that I was just as confused as the rest of them.

“Ah, he threw up!” Naruto yelled.

“Kabuto-san!” Sakura called, worried about the boy.

The three sound ninja seemed pleased with themselves and the tallest, a boy with spiky hair, chuckled.

Naruto pushed out of the headlock I had him in and rushed to Kabuto’s side. “Kabuto!” I merely stood back and crossed my arms, observing before making my way back to my seat with my team. Something was picking at the back of my brain but I couldn’t figure it out.

“Are you okay?” Kaemon asked as I took my seat. I nodded, indicating that I was fine.

“Did you see what caused the attack?” Yasuo asked, leaning forward.

“Yeah, some sort of apparatus on his arm, sort of like a metal cylinder with holes cut out of it. When he swung, it must have created some sort of sonic attack,” I said, paraphrasing it from Rai had said earlier and from what I had seen.

“Quiet down, you worthless bastards!” The voice rung loud through the room as a burst of smoke appeared from the front. A large group of people appeared, mostly dressed the same with one man in the front wearing a long black coat.

**_Must be the examiners…_ **

_Must be,_ I answered.

“Thanks for waiting. I’m Morino Ibiki, the examiner for the Chuunin Selection Exam’s first test.”

_It’s a different guy then last time._

**_You did take the test fifteen years ago._ **

Ibiki pointed a finger at the back of the room, where all the rookies and the sound ninja still stood. “Hidden Sound guys, stop doing as you please before the exam! Do you want to fail already?”

The short guy in the fur coat spoke up, “I apologize. This is our first time. We got a bit carried away.”

“Bah, here’s a good opportunity to say this, there will be no fighting without the permission of the examiner. Even if permission is granted, killing your opponent will not be tolerated. Those pigs that disobey me will be failed immediately. Do I make myself clear?” Ibiki glared at all of the genin in front of him.

The room was quiet except from a few murmurs.

“We will now start the first test of the Chuunin Exam. Instead of your current seating arrangements, you will pick one of these tabs and sit in the seat assigned to you. We will then hand out the exams.” He held up a little piece of wood with the number “1” written on it.

The room was quiet for a moment before Naruto’s voice echoed through the space. “What?! A paper test?!”

**_Poor Naruto-kun. He’s screwed._ **

I had to smother a chuckle because I knew Rai was completely right. He was screwed. My team and I lined up with everyone else, all of us knowing exactly what was supposed to happen, and already knowing that we could do this. I ended up seated next to TenTen. We shared a smile before taking our seats and looking up as Ibiki started talking again.

“Do not turn your tests over. Listen closely to what I’m about to say. There are many important rules to this first test. I will write it on the board while I explain, but questions will not be allowed, so listen carefully.”

_No questions. They’re really trying this year._ I rocked back on my chair, making it stand on two legs as I put a foot up on the desk, blocking out most of the chatter as I closed my eyes.

As soon as the word “Begin!” sounded though, I opened my eyes and placed my chair level on the floor. I scanned over the test, noticing that the tenth question wasn’t given to us until forty-five minutes in to the test, no big deal. _First question is a cryptogram. Easy peasy. Done with that! Next question… “Line B, seen in the picture, is the greatest possible distance a shinobi can throw his shuriken from a tree of seven meters. For enemies that appear within the circumference of the shuriken’s range, explain the attack options using this distance. Show your work.” Geeze they’ve made this easy over the years. Take me twenty minutes to finish this test._ After finishing, and while waiting for the tenth question, I watched as team after team failed for being caught cheating. The number kept rising until thirteen teams had failed in the forty-five minutes.

“Okay, we will now start the tenth question.”

_This should be fun._ I couldn’t help the grin that spread across my face.


	28. The Tenth Question

“Okay, and now, we will begin the tenth question,” Ibiki called, bringing attention from the test to him. “Now, before we get to it, I’d like to go over the added rules for this question-“

The door to the exam room interrupted him as Kankuro entered with an examiner behind him.

“Heh, nice timing. Was your doll playing beneficial?”

At least the puppeteer had the decency to look embarrassed at being caught.

“Just sit down.” As the sand nin sat down, he continued, “I’ll now explain, these are the rules of desperation. First, for this tenth question, you must decide whether you will take it or not.”

_Choose?_ _I don’t remember this being part of it._

“Choose! What happens if we choose not to?!” Temari yelled from a couple rows behind me.

A smirk twisted on Ibiki’s features. “If you choose not to, your points will be reduced to zero. You fail! Along with your two teammates.”

“What does that mean?” a Waterfall ninja yelled.

“Then of course we will decide to take the question!” a Sand girl shouted.

“And now, the other rule. If you choose to take it, and answer incorrectly, that person will lose the right to take the Chuunin Selection Exam again.”

My eyes widened slightly. _This is definitely new._

“What kind of stupid rule is that?! There are guys here who have taken the exam before!” Kiba shouted, his dog, Akamaru, barking his agreement.

Ibiki just laughed. “You guys are unlucky. This year it’s my rules.” He stood up a little straighter. “But I’m giving you a way out. Those that aren’t confident can choose not to take it, and try again next year.” No one said anything, but they all held their breath. “Now let’s begin, the tenth question. Those who do not wish to take it, raise your hand. Once your number is confirmed, leave.”

Silence…

A lot of thinking…

Then a hand rose. “I… I won’t take it!” He shook slightly. “I’m sorry Gennai, Inoho.”

“Damn it!”

“Me too.”

“And me.”

“Sorry guys.”

“I quit.”

“Me too.”

Then I saw Naruto slowly raising his hand. _I really didn’t expect him to chicken out._

**_Just watch, he might surprise you._ **

_If you’re sure…_

He slammed his hand down on the desk. “Don’t underestimate me! I will not run!!” He gave Ibiki a glare. “I’ll take it! Even if I’m a genin forever! I’ll will myself to become Hokage anyway! So I don’t care!! I’m not afraid!!”

I couldn’t help but grin and I could tell that Rai was as well. _That’s my boy…_

“I’ll ask you again,” Ibiki began, “Your life is riding on this decision. This is your last chance to quit.”

“I follow my unbending words. That is my ninja way.”

The cool thing was nobody else raised their hand to quit. It seemed he took all of the fear out of them and made them ready to face the world.

A small smile came to Ibiki’s face. “Good decisions. Now, to everyone still remaining,” he paused for effect, “I congratulate you on passing the first test!”

I couldn’t help but laugh as intakes of breath filled the room. _Perfect!_

**_Definitely a different way to test us. Can we make a decision that could affect the rest of our lives with no time to weigh consequences or talk to your teammates?_ **

“Wait, what do you mean?” Sakura asked, standing at her seat. “We already pass? What about the tenth question?”

“There never was such a thing,” Ibiki explained with a grin. “Or you could say that the two choices were the tenth question.

“Hey! Then what were the first nine questions for?! They were pointless then!!” Temari yelled, standing up and slamming her fists in to the desk.

“They were not pointless,” Ibiki continued, “They had already served their intended purpose. To test your individual information gathering ability, that purpose.”

Temari was still confused. “Information gathering?”

“First, as the rules explained, success on this test is based on the whole team doing well. This put pressure on each member not to mess things up for teammates.”

I laughed as I watched Naruto nod like he knew exactly what was going on.

“But the questions on this test were not the types that mere genin could answer. Because of that, I’m sure most people came to the conclusion that to score points, I’ll have to cheat.” His smile quirked a bit. “Basically, the premise of this test was to cheat. As cheating targets, we had two or so chuunins who knew all the answers mixed in to the crowd.”

As a few guys commented, I found it more amusing to watch Naruto’s emotions change from confused and depressed to an expression that said, _“of course I knew that”_.

“But those that cheat poorly,” Ibiki untied his headband and scarf, removing it from his head, “fail, of course.”

_Oh, that had to hurt._

**_He survived that?_ **

“Because at times, information is more important than life. And on missions and the battlefield, people risk their lives to get their hands on it.” Ibiki showed off his massively scarred head to the crowd. Burn marks, deep cuts, and some screw holes were the evidence of torture.

He continued talking as he tied the headband back on, “If the enemy or a third party notices you, there is no guarantee the info will be accurate.” He finished knotting the cloth as his expression darkened slightly. “I want you to remember this, important information in your hands, can be a powerful weapon for your comrades and for the village. So we had you gather information through cheating. This clearly separated those that did not have the right abilities.”

Poor Temari, still confused. “But, I don’t understand the final question.”

Ibiki merely smiled again. “But question ten is the true purpose of this test.”

Sakura blinked at the man. “What do you mean?”

“Let me explain,” the information expert continued, “the tenth question, the ‘take it’ or ‘not take it’ decision. Obviously, these were painful choices. Those who choose the latter fail along with their teammates. Those that choose to take it could lose the chance to take the test again. A true leap of faith.” His demeanor changed slightly as he switched topics again. “Now about these two choices…”

_Screw this; I’m taking a nap._

**_I’ll let you know when he’s done talking._ **

I crossed my arms and lay my head down on them, hoping for a quick nap.

Unfortunately, it didn’t last long and Rai wasn’t the one that woke me up. A figure wrapped in fabric crashed through the window, sending glass flying in to the first few rows. Kunai launched themselves from the ball of fabric and imbedded themselves in to the ceiling and floor, holding up a curtain. In front of that curtain, stood a not very covered woman with her dark hair tied up in the back of her head. “You guys! This is no time to be celebrating!” she yelled. “I’m the examiner for the second test, Mitarashi Anko! Now let’s go!” She pumped her fist in to the air. “Follow me!”

_Oh my god! She’s a female Naruto._

**_I was thinking the same thing._ **

“Bad timing,” Ibiki muttered from the other side of the curtain.

Anko merely made a face at him before looking around the room. “You left twenty-eight teams! The test was too easy this time!”

Ibiki simply shrugged. “This time, there are a lot of outstanding ones.”

The woman didn’t seem too fazed by this. “Bah, that’s fine. I’ll cut them at least in half in the second test.”

_That means she has something in mind if our number is going to be halved. Hopefully Kaemon and Yasuo won’t ditch us during this one. We’re going to need their help._

**_That bad?_ **

_That dangerous._

“Ahh, I’m getting excited.” Anko’s expression turned dark. “I’ll explain everything once we’ve changed places. Follow me.”

I glanced at my teammates as I stood up from my desk. We grouped up as the remaining twenty-eight teams filed out of the room “I have a bad feeling about this…” I whispered to the taller boys.

“Eh, we’ll be fine!” Yasuo replied, lacing his fingers behind his head.

Kaemon placed a hand on my shoulder. “We’ll be there with you.”

We walked for a while, coming to a tall fence circling an even taller forest.

I raised my covered arm in to the air, comforted with the fact that Kohei quickly came to rest.

“Welcome to the stage for the second test, Practice Arena Forty-Four, also known as ‘The Forest of Death’!!” She turned and gave us a dark, but amused look. “You’ll find out soon, why it’s called the ‘Forest of Death’.”

_3… 2… 1…_

“’You’ll find out soon why it called the Forest of Death’,” I heard Naruto mimic.

_How did I know?_

**_Because Naruto is predictable?_ **

_That’s Naruto for you._

**_Next is ‘I’m not afraid!’, right?_ **

“You think that scares me?” he yelled. I could see him pointing a finger at the exam proctor. “That’s nothing! I’m not afraid!”

_Nice call._

**_Thanks._ **

Anko simply smiled at the boy. “Yeah. You’re spirited.”

I couldn’t help but smirk as the female launched a kunai at the idiot, creating a cut on his cheek and simply appeared beside him, eagerly enjoying the fact the boy was bleeding as she used her tongue to help him clean up. “Kids like you are quickly killed,” she giggled, “spraying the red blood that I love.”

I quickly tuned out as the conversation continued when a Grass ninja came up behind them, laying back on the grass and closing my eyes. Kohei placed himself on my arm, watching. He would alert me when it was time to pay attention again.

My alert was not the bird, but Yasuo pushing a piece of paper in to my face and telling me to sign it.

“We’re doing a scroll battle. Get both scrolls and we head to the tower. Don’t open the scroll until we are at the tower. Time limit is five days and anything goes,” Kaemon explained, signing his own form.

“Anything else I should know?” I asked as I signed the paper without reading it.

“Yeah,” Yasuo answered, “She told us not to die.”

I rolled my eyes as I sat up, forcing the bird on my arm to move and settle on my shoulder as I stood. “Great advice.”

We filed through the makeshift desk area, turning in our forms and receiving a Heaven Scroll in return. “So, we need to steal an Earth Scroll, right?” I double-checked with the guy behind the desk.

“Correct.” He waved us out so he could move on to the next team as Kaemon shoved the scroll in to the small scroll pack he carried underneath his loose blue shirt. We wandered out and headed to an unclaimed gate, the number ‘4’ on a sign over to it.

“We ready for this?” I asked, looking to my companions. For once, I was glad that we were actually jounin in our native village. “This is for her, not for us,” I remembered softly. _Don’t worry kid. We’ll keep you safe._

**_I’m not too worried._** I could tell she was giving a soft smile.

“The second test of the Chuunin Exam now begins!!” Anko’s voice rang out.

The gate flew open as we rushed through, heading in to the dark forest.


	29. The Need to Protect

“Nice job talking that guy in to just giving us the scroll,” Yasuo said, flipping the Earth Scroll in his hand before slipping it in to the pouch on his hip.

Kaemon shrugged like it was no big deal. To him, it wasn’t. His bloodline limit took a lot of effort to use and tired him out afterward, but it was great at times like this. “My Onsei isn’t that different from your Joukei. Actually your Joukei would have been nice and handy if you had told me that his teammate was going to come up behind me as soon as I sat down.” He leaned against the trunk of the tree we were in, slowly regaining his energy.

“Hey! Ran saved your ass!” the blonde exclaimed as he rolled on to his stomach, looking at Kaemon from his upside-down position from the branch above him.

“Hey idiots, shut up,” I quipped from a couple branches higher. Kohei was scouting from a tree nearby, making sure that nothing was headed our way. I also had my demon senses on full alert. With Kaemon exhausted and the largest of our little group, it wasn’t safe for us to move. So, we were hidden in a tree a couple hundred meters above ground.

A cry from Kohei put me on high alert. My eyes switched from brown to a molten gold as I let more demon power out to improve my vision to find what he had spotted.

“What’s up?” Kaemon asked, opening his eyes slowly.

“It’s Pinkie,” I answered looking down in to the clearing that was right below us. “It looks like Naruto and Sasuke are unconscious.”

**_We should check on her._ **

_Sure that’s a good idea?_

**_It gives her four more sets of eyes and I can help heal if need be. Kaemon-san should be able to rest more comfortably down there too._ **

“Let’s go guys,” I said, dropping down to Kaemon’s branch to help him move. A whistle sent Kohei circling down in to the clearing to keep an eye out and give Sakura an idea that we were coming, that it wasn’t an enemy.

That didn’t stop her from drawing a kunai as we slowly approached, Kaemon’s arms slung over my and Yasuo’s shoulders. “Hey Pinkie! Long time no see!” I called.

“Just you,” she said softly. She looked exhausted and beat up. It was a few hours from dawn but you could tell she had gotten no sleep since we entered the forest almost a day ago.

“Thought we’d join you.” I gave a quick smirk to the girl as Yasuo helped Kaemon sit down against a root of the tree we were under.

“Yeah.” She pulled a cloth off of Sasuke’s forehead, wringing it out and wetting it again with cold water from her canteen.

I sat down next to her, looking over the two boys. Sasuke looked to be in pain and he was flushed with fever. Naruto just looked fast asleep. “What happened? Poison? How long has this gone on for?” I asked, pressing too fingers to Sasuke’s neck to get a pulse. He was running at over 160 beats per minute.

“He’s been unconscious for a few hours now,” she said with worry thickening her voice.

**_Most poisons act much quicker than this. Those that don’t, damage the skin, leaving a hole where it enters or they do something else you can’t ignore, such as stopping all clotting and making you bleed out through all orifices. He also has no built up resistance to poison. If this was poison, he’d be dead already._ **

Rai took over, a glow coming to my hand as she swept it over Sasuke’s head and over his chest.

Sakura looked a little shocked. “You know how to heal?”

“I have a friend who taught me how,” I answered, telling the truth… sort of.

**_Source is coming from his neck?_** She sounded confused.

I moved so I was sitting on my knees so I could lean over the boy to look at the other side of his neck. I could feel Yasuo and Sakura watching me. Kaemon had fallen in to a light doze. I tilted the boy’s head toward me, exposing the fact that he had dark marks on his neck that hadn’t been there at the beginning of the test.

Rai gasped. **_It’s a seal and not a good one._**

“Where did this seal come from?” I asked, glancing at the girl beside me.

She was quiet as tears started to fall down her cheeks.

I shook my head. “Never mind. Try to catch some sleep. I’m going to try and make him a little more comfortable.”

She nodded before settling against a tree root, finally allowing herself to close her eyes.

“Is there anything you can do?” Yasuo asked, keeping his voice low.

I shook my head. “Even she doesn’t know how to stop it.” Rai forced a glow to my hand and placed it over the seal. “She just wants to try and relieve some of his pain so, hopefully, the fever will reside a bit.”

Yasuo nodded. “What do you think did it?”

**“Someone had to force it upon him, that’s all I know,”** Rai answered, keeping her voice low.

His brows furrowed and he looked toward the clearing before trying to stifle a yawn.

I smirked slightly. “Catch a nap. Kohei and I can keep a lookout.” I turned my eyes back towards the healing hands and the unconscious males. “I don’t need much sleep anyway.”

He laughed slightly. “With the way you sleep? You would never know.” He leaned back against one of the roots, sharing one with the already snoring Sakura, and closed his eyes.

_You’ll help me keep an eye out, right?_

**_I don’t sleep anymore unless you are, so don’t worry about it._** I felt a release of chakra from my body, knowing Rai was spreading it very thin in a large circle around us. With Rai here below and Kohei up above, we couldn’t be snuck up on.

Sakura woke as the sun rose, looking much more awake with a couple hours asleep. Yasuo and Kaemon stirred when she drew a kunai on a poor squirrel that was coming from the other side of the clearing.

“Squirrel?” I asked. “Where did you come from?”

From up above, Kohei clicked his beak in warning. Someone was just beyond Rai’s veil of chakra.

The rodent started running toward us. Sakura threw her kunai towards it, making it stop in its tracks and turn tail, running back toward the people hiding in the bush. I glanced at the girl, realizing that there was a trap set that we hadn’t noticed in the dark. The glow faded from my hand and I shifted back, balanced on the balls of my feet, ready to leap in to action if need be.

“Up all night?” a voice rang through the clearing as the three sound nin from earlier appeared from the brush.

Sakura startled and gasped as she noticed their approach.

The one with the fur rug attached to his back tilted his head slightly to the side. “But it’s no longer necessary. Wake up Sasuke-kun. We want to fight him.”

I looked to Sakura to see her shaking as she reached in to her kunai pouch. “Wha- What are you talking about?!” she yelled at the enemy nin. “I know that someone named Orochimaru is pulling the strings from the shadows! What’s his purpose?!”

This seemed to shock the sound ninja and the name clicked in my mind. _Orochimaru? What is he doing here? Did he do this to Sasuke?_

**_Do you know him?_ **

_Sadly. I’ve worked with a friend of his._

“What is this weird mark on Sasuke’s neck?! You guys did this to him and now you want to fight him?!” she continued.

“I wonder what that man is thinking…” Rug-man mused.

I rested a hand over Sakura’s, hoping to give her some reassurance as I stood. “Are you saying you guys had nothing to do with this?” I asked, my voice deadly soft as my eyes shifted from brown to gold.

Rug-man shook his head. “No, we didn’t.”

The other male in the group spoke up now. “But hearing that, we can’t let you go. I’ll kill this girl, and I’ll also kill this Sasuke guy.”

Both Sakura and I stiffened and readied ourselves to defend the boys. I could hear Yasuo and Kaemon slowly waking with all the chatter.

One of the male sound ninjas stepped forward.

“Wait, Zaku,” Rug-man said.

I glanced toward Pinkie. _He noticed her trap as well._

Rug-man bent down, pulling at the grass that had been placed over the booby trap. “You’re not very good. A recently overturned stone, different colored dirt, grass doesn’t grow here.” He looked up at Sakura. “A booby-trap is pointless unless it goes unnoticed.”

The now-named Zaku scoffed. “Stupid. So the kunai was to prevent the squirrel from setting off the trap.”

Rug-man stood up straight, looking back at his comrades. “Since we have no use for the girls, kill them.”

I stood up, drawing a kunai for each hand, putting myself in front of Pinkie. As the three sound leapt in to action and I prepared to defend those behind me, a few things happened. Yasuo leapt to join me in front of Sakura and she reached behind her with the kunai and cut a string that hadn’t been noticed before.

Yasuo and I stopped in our tracks as a gigantic log fell from the canopies, heading straight for the airborne sound ninja.

“Giant log?” the female sound asked, as if it wasn’t obvious.

Rug-man’s eyes widened exponentially. “Another trap move? Oh no!!!”

My eyes narrowed slightly at that.

**_You heard it too? He’s not that worried about it._ **

_What does he have up his sleeve?_

The tree made its final swing towards the sound when Rug-man placed the hand that had the resonator on the bark. “Yeah, right.” A simple hand symbol and the log seemed to explode. Bark and bits of tree rained down on our group, finally pushing Kaemon to get to his feet and stand with Yasuo and me.

Sakura looked up at the failed trap, shocked. “Huh?”

“Frankly speaking,” Rug-man said as his group fell towards us, “you have no talent. People like you have to work harder. A weakling like you shouldn’t mess with guys like us.”

A green blur came from the trees barreling towards the sound ninja. A cry of “Leaf Whirlwind!” sounded through the clearing as the blur attacked the foreign ninja, sending them hard in to the ground. Rock Lee landed alongside my teammates, standing right in front of Sakura in his trademark stance. “Then you guys should also work harder.”

Rug-man dragged himself to his feet, a harsh glare focused on the leaf genin. “Who are you?”

Lee stood up straighter. “The beautiful green beast of the Hidden Leaf, Rock Lee!”

Sakura looked up at the male, confused. “Why are you here?” She couldn’t understand why the petal team and other leaf teams would want to protect her and her team when everyone was supposed to be against each other.

Lee gave her a smile while keeping his attention on the enemies in front of us. “I will always appear when you are in trouble.”

The sound nin finished picking themselves out of the dirt and Rug-man cracked his neck, readying himself for the battle to come. I rested an elbow on Lee’s shoulder, looking out at who we were about to face. “Kaemon, stay with Pinkie. Yasuo, watch over the boys. Lee and I won’t let them pass, but don’t let them near Team 7,” I ordered, flipping a kunai between my fingers, ready to actually do some fighting.

“Thank you, for saving me,” Sakura said softly.

“I said it before,” Lee started. We all looked at him, waiting for him to finish. “That I will protect you until I die.”

I grinned at the boy. “That’s how you win ‘em! Ready to go smush some bugs?” I asked cracking my knuckles while glaring back at the sound ninja.

“With pleasure, Ran-chan,” Lee answered.

Rug-man took their scroll and handed it back to Zaku. “Oh well, Zaku, you can have Sasuke-kun.” He bent forward and rushed towards us. “I’ll take care of them.”

“Cocky son-of-a-bitch, aren’t you?” I asked, smirking. “You think you can take on both of us?”

“I don’t think, I know.”

“Hah!” I met Lee’s eye for a moment, before diving forward to slash at the nin’s feet. He easily dodged.

“Was that supposed to hit me?” Rug-man looked back at me.

I grinned again. “Nope!”

He looked forward again to meet Lee pulling an entire root system out of the ground to block the potential for a sonic attack, surprising the sound nin greatly as he avoided the sharp roots.

“There’s some trick to your attacks, right?” Lee clarified. “I’m not going to simply dodge it, since I’ve seen your attacks before.” Sakura seemed shocked by the utter display of power the leaf nin displayed.

“At three against two, we’re at the disadvantage,” I said simply, walking towards the two fighting nin.

“We’ll have to risk crushing you at full power.” Lee’s eyes hardened as he stood up straight.

I watched as he unwrapped the bandages from around his wrists.

**_He’s using that? But he’ll be open to attack!_ **

“Hey Lee, you sure about this?” I called, not quite understanding what was going on.

“I’m sure. I have to protect my precious person.” He glared at the Rug-man.

I simply nodded, Rai moving our body back a few paces away from the two boys.

Eyes all around the clearing watched in fascination as Rug-man dashed at Lee only to be nailed by a kick to the chin, throwing up in to the air. As they flew, the loosened bandages wound around the sound nin, securing Lee to his back as they plummeted towards the ground.

_Now I see why you were worried._

**_Yeah, but what is Zaku up to?_ **

I turned to see Zaku with his hands plummeting in to the earth as a cry from Lee rang through the clearing. I jumped slightly when the ground beneath me moved and fluffed up.

**_He’s creating a landing pad!!!_ **

“Lee! Watch out!” I cried, hurrying towards Rai’s teammate. They landed in a puff of dust and Lee hopped away from the impact to collapse a few meters away.

When the dust cleared, Rug-man was seen sticking halfway out of a pile of soft dirt, his legs up in the air.

“Looks like I made it time,” Zaku said, pulling his hands from the ground.

The leaf and petal nin watched in horror as Rug-man pulled himself from the ground, not looking as beaten up as he should have for such a horrific attack.

“No way!” the boys cried.

“What a terrifying move.” He rotated his shoulders to regain feeling from the impact. “This much damage even on a sponge of dirt.” He extended his right arm, pulling up the sleeve, and revealing a metal cylinder with holes cut in it. “Now, it’s my turn.”

I wasn’t about to let Rug-man attack a boy who couldn’t move. I called to the demon power, allowing me to put myself between Lee and the sound nin. “And now, you’re facing me.” Gold eyes burned in to Rug-man’s one exposed eye. “Think you can take me on?”

His response was swinging his right arm at me, forcing me to duck and flip backwards. A sharp piercing sound ran through the eardrum of my left ear. _What the hell?_

**_I warned you in the classroom! It’s that metal thing on his arm. He’s trying to destroy your inner ear!_** Rai’s voice sounded louder than ever with the loss of outside hearing in one ear.

I touched the damaged ear, my hand coming away with blood. _Great._ The sound nin swung on more time at me. I did not let him complete the swing, nailing a side kick to his chest and throwing him back towards his teammates. “You may have got me once, but you won’t do it again. Enjoy that victory while you can.”

“What the- You shouldn’t be able to move!” Zaku cried.

I simply laughed at the boy. “You think something like that will stop me. I won’t let you touch any of these kids.” I looked back at Rai’s teammate. “Lee, you protected her, now let me protect you.” I gave him a thumbs-up, which he returned before slumping to the ground. I could feel Rai working our chakra to try and repair the damage done already.

“Let’s see if you’re able to stand up to this!” Rug-man swung at me again, forcing me to block his right arm with my left, landing right on the metal cylinder. It rang out even louder than last time. _It shouldn’t be this loud! The holes are away from me!_

**_There is chakra in the sound! That’s why the healing isn’t going as well as it should! I can’t heal this right now._** I could hear some panic in her voice at her techniques not working.

_We’ll get through this._ I flipped myself up and over the boy’s arm, nailing a hard kick to the side of his head and throwing him off me. As soon as I was free from him, I was nailed by a blast of air from Zaku, throwing me back towards Sakura and Lee.

**_Where’s the girl?!_ **

I looked up, realizing for the first time that the female sound nin had disappeared from sight. _That was fucking stupid, letting the enemy out of my-_ My thoughts were cut short from a scream behind me. I turned to find the female sound nin clutching Pinkie’s hair tightly in her fist. _Can’t let her hurt Pinkie, I promised I’d keep her safe._ I dropped my defensive stance, raising my hands to say that I wasn’t going to do anything.

The female turned her attention to Sakura. “Much more luster than me, this… trying to be a sexy ninja?” she asked in a mocking tone. She twisted her fist, pulling the hair tighter and causing Sakura to cry out in pain. “If you have time to treat your hair, then train you female swine!” The sound nin looked up at her partners. “Zaku, kill that Sasuke guy in front of this boy-chaser’s eyes. Let’s teach this one a lesson.”

Kaemon, Yasuo and I could only watch as Zaku moved forward to complete the order. We couldn’t risk Pinkie’s life like that. Lee watched helplessly from where he had collapsed.

I watched as Sakura gripped her kunai in both hands, a look of sheer determination on her face.

“Useless, that’s not going to work on me,” the female gripping Pinkie’s head chuckled darkly.

The leaf kunoichi looked up at her. “What are you talking about?” Then she did something I never thought she would do. She sheared the hair off of her head, leaving a very short bob. My jaw dropped along with my teammates. Now that Sakura was free, we could move in on Zaku.

“Kin! Kill her!” Zaku cried, knowing that he had seconds before he would be taken down. But we could only watch in horrible fascination as Sakura finally proved her worth as a ninja against Kin. She managed to get around the female and threw half a dozen kunai at Zaku, only for him to simply blast them back at her. She disappeared again, appearing above him throwing more kunai. Zaku blasted them back, and thinking she had disappeared again, he looked to see where she would pop up again. But it was still her when she fell on him, stabbing a kunai in to one arm and biting down hard on the other.

“Kaemon! Yasuo!” I cried, “I have Rug-man! Get Kin!” I dove for the sound nin who seemed shocked at my nickname for him. I hooked my arm around his neck, using my weight to bring us both to the ground and pull his neck at an angle that would make it easy to snap. I looked up to see Kaemon and Yasuo each grabbing the kunoichi’s arms and Yasuo pulling her head back by her hair. We could only watch as Zaku continued to pummel Sakura, while she bit in to his arm for dear life. There was nothing my team could do. The boys were struggling to hold on to Kin while I had to work to hang on to Rug-man’s neck, digging my knee in to the small of his back.

Sakura was finally thrown from Zaku, falling in to a heap a few meters away. We could only watch helplessly as the sound ninja ignored the fact that his teammates could easily be taken out and approached the beaten girl. As he raised his arms to send a blast of air at the female, a rustle of bushes and Ino, Chouji, and Shikamaru appeared, blocking the sound ninja from their fellow kunoichi.

**_Ran-san! Get to Sasuke-kun! Something is happening!_ **

At Rai’s panicked voice, I looked over at the two knocked-out genin off to the side. A purple miasma-type substance seemed to be leaking from the side of Sasuke’s neck. _SHIT!!!_ I leapt up, digging my foot in to Rug-man’s back and ignoring the fighting that was starting to ensue around me, and rushing towards the boys. Rai’s healing chakra engulfed my hands and pressed in to the seal, trying to stop whatever was going on inside Sasuke’s body.

**_This isn’t good. I can’t keep this up for long._ **

_How long can you give me?_

**_Depends if this stuff keeps fighting me off or not. Watch our hands._ **

Looking at myself instead of the boy, I noticed what she was talking about. Whatever was fighting us off was burning my hands. The healing chakra was having to be separated between my hands and the boy in pain. Even in his unconscious state, he was attacking me. _What the hell is going on with this boy?_

I didn’t have time to question it as a sudden rush of an explosion of air that flung me away from the two unconscious boys. I wiped the dirt off my face as I slid back from the sound blast. _Shit, that sound blast is annoying._

"Bah, I can't take any more of this. Some minor sound nins bullying these second rate ninjas and declaring victory,” a familiar voice rang out over the clearing.

“Who the hell you calling second rate, you ass?!” I yelled back at the boy, standing up to my full height and giving Rai’s team a smirk.

“You, you bitch!” TenTen hollered back, her laughter proving that she was only poking fun.

“You got that part right at least!” I yelled to the Hyuuga and the female before turning from them to face the sound trio.

“They keep coming out like cockroaches,” grumbled the furry man, turning his attention to the genin above us.

Neji’s gaze turned to our hurt friend that lay a few feet away from me. “You made a mistake. That hurt freak right there is from our team and…” a shock of chakra rang out as he activated his Byakugan. “You’re going to pay for that!”

“Ooooh… Scary!” I giggled, pulling my shoulder-length hair in to a ponytail to keep out of the way for the fight that was about to ensue.

Neji crossed his arms. “If you’re going to go any further, I’m going all out-” He cut himself off as a spark of unusual charka was noticed.

_What the-_

**_It’s Sasuke!! It’s about to get really bad!_ **

Rug-man laughed. “If you don’t like it so much, then stop acting cool and come down here,” he called up to Neji.

“No,” the Hyuuga called out, surprising us all. “It seems that won’t be necessary.” He closed his eyes, deactivating his kekkei genkai.

“Sasuke-kun! You’re awake!” Sakura’s cry made me turn to look to the boy. He had even more of that miasma coming off of him as he struggled to his feet.

Fear ran through everyone as, one by one, we realized what had happened to him.

**_The seal… It spread…_ **

_That can’t be good._

**_It’s not._ **

Black flame-like marks branded his skin and his Sharingan shone brightly in the darkened forest. “Sakura,” he ground out, “Who did that to you?” he asked, referring to the bruises and blood.

“Sasuke!” I cried, Rai’s fear and my own mingling horribly throughout my body.

“Who did it?” he asked a second time, louder this round.

Zaku was proud of his work, crying “I did!” through the clearing.

“Guys, stay back. I’m not kidding.” I glanced at my teammates with golden eyes, showing them how serious I was about this. My fingernails lengthened slightly, but not enough to draw attention to it. If you could see my back, you would see a very faded tattoo of full wings. That’s how much of my demon power I was letting through.

**_I’ll heal whatever damage we take._ **

_We’re going to need it. My demon instincts are so telling me to run away right now._

“Don’t worry,” Sasuke said quietly, “Not only that, I feel power overflowing from within me. I feel great.” He looked away from Sakura and toward the forest. “He gave it to me.”

“Huh?” Sakura was confused.

I stepped forward slowly. “Who gave it to you, Sasuke?”

He cast the merest glance in my direction. “I finally understand it. I am an avenger. Even if I must eat the Devil’s fruit, I am on a path where I must gain power.” All of a sudden, he glared at the sound team. “Now, it was you guys, right?”

“Shit! Ino, Shikamaru, Chouji! Get the fuck out of here! Sakura! Drag Naruto in to the roots!” I cried, afraid for the genin in the clearing. “Sound guys! If you don’t want to die, get the fuck out of here, now!”

I watch Shikamaru pick up Ino and took off in to the bushes with Chouji right behind him. Sakura tried her hardest to drag the blonde boy out the way, but I could tell she wasn’t going to make it.

I watched the seal spread farther across Sasuke’s face, the chakra flowing from him doubling. The sound nin took a step back from the force.

“His chakra is too large!” Rug-man cried, stepping back further away from the leaf genin.

Zaku took an attack stance. “Dosu!” he cried, finally giving me Rug-man’s name, “No need to be afraid of this half-dead freak!” He raised his arms to the three genin left in the clearing.

“No, Zaku!” Dosu reached for his teammate. “Don’t you realize-”

He was cut off by a cry of high-pitched sound as Zaku launched his attack.

“Sakura! Naruto! Sasuke!” I screamed, pushing myself to try and get to the team. I was blasted back by the attack before I could even get close. “Shit!!!” I screamed, trying to fight towards them. Trees were shredded and dirt was blown in to the air, making it very hard to see what was going on. I could hear cries ring around the clearing as the attack sounded. But as quick as it had sounded, it died, leaving a path of destruction through the forest.

“I’ve blown him away!” Zaku cried, grinning widely. My eyes widened exponentially.

“Blown who away?”

Zaku whipped around, shocked, only to get nailed by a punch and flung across the clearing.

“Sasuke!” I cried, cautiously taking steps closer to the boy. “You’re hurt. I need you to sit down so I can help,” I tried, knowing deep down it wouldn’t work.

This time, I didn’t even get a glance from him. He just shot off some of his fire tricks after the sound ninja. Surprisingly, he even managed to hide a shuriken in each flame, revealed when Zaku tried to blast them away. He ended up pretty cut up from them. But the next thing we knew was that Sasuke was behind the sound nin, pulling his arms behind him and placing a foot solidly in the middle of his back.

“So you’re so proud of these arms?” he chuckled with a twisted grin.

I knew exactly what he was going to do. “Don’t do it, Sasuke!” I looked at Sakura. “Pinkie! Say something!”

She couldn’t. We could only watch in horrible fascination as Sasuke broke Zaku’s arms, then let him fall face first in to the dirt. He then turned toward Dosu. “You’re the only one left.” Slowly, Sasuke walked forward. “I hope you let me have more fun.”

“Shit!” I cried, diving forward to place myself between Sasuke and the sound ninja. “You don’t want to do this! If you try, I’ll stop you!” I glared heatedly at the boy. His smile twisted some more and I knew he was going to go through me to get to Dosu. He took another step closer and I flew. I nailed a kick to his chin, which he returned with a straight shot to my abdomen. _Shit! My solar plexus!_ I worked hard to get my diaphragm to work again while back flipping away, before standing on my hands and wind milling with my legs, hitting him hard in the side. I only succeeded in moving him back a couple feet from Dosu, who seemed to be in shock. I was running low on oxygen when he caught my foot then he threw me clear across the clearing in to a tree. My vision swam as I landed heavily close to where Ino, Chouji, and Shikamaru were hiding. What little air I had left whooshed out and my diaphragm was still spasming, not letting me breathe.

**_You need to get up!_ **

I pushed myself up. “No…” I ground out. “No…” I repeated. I felt hands trying to help me up. Shikamaru and Chouji. “Get away from me…” I managed. The tattoo on my back was darkening. My nails were getting longer. The skin around my eyes was darkening like that sand boy, making the gold glow. I was letting my power flow. I needed to protect these kids.

I needed to.

I screamed. A cry that sounded like the hawk I represent was sent to the heavens, causing everyone to stand still.

“Oh shit!” I heard Yasuo breath.

I felt more than heard the footsteps approaching Dosu stop and start approaching me.

**_You made yourself a more appealing target,_** Rai breathed.

My lungs started working normally again with the influx of demon energy. “Come get me,” I ground out. I was now faster than he was, when we were on par before. _I can’t hold this level for long, not without going higher. I need to finish this quick._ I launched quickly towards the Uchiha, moving quick enough to knock the legs out from under him. “Pinkie! Catch!” I powerful kick to the stomach, and he landed heavily in front of Sakura.

She took my cue and wrapped her arms around the boy. Whatever she was saying quietly in his ear was working. Sasuke was calming down and the seal was receding. I took a deep breath and released the excess energy. I sagged to the ground in middle of the clearing, closing my eyes and yawning. “Nap time.”

A light kick hit my shoulder. I glared up at my teammates. “What?”

Kaemon shrugged. “Was just thinking we should get to the tower before you fall asleep for the next twenty-four hours.”

“Bah.” I dragged myself to my feet with some help from the two boys. I took a look around the clearing. Shikamaru and Chouji were standing over Naruto, looking quite confused. Ino was helping Lee to his feet. Sakura and Sasuke were sitting by the tree. A cry rang through the clearing, causing everyone to look over at the group of three boys. Chouji had just woken up Naruto by bashing him over the head with a thick branch. I hooked an arm over each set of shoulders belonging to my teammates.

_I’m so tired._

**_Well, you did go a little crazy today._ **

We made our way over the other genin groups, just in time to see TenTen drop down to help Lee and Naruto going through normal antics as he slowly caught up with the rest of us.

“Hey! It’s Thick-Brow!” Naruto screamed, pointing at Lee.

I pulled my arms off of my teammates and launched a combo attack with Sakura. Her fist. My foot. “Don’t be rude to Lee-san!” we both said. Shortly after, I collapsed on the ground again. “I can’t go on!” I groaned, grinning at the same time at my teammates.

“You’ll make it,” Yasuo laughed before picking me up and slinging me over his shoulder.

“Hey!” I pounded on his back with no effect.

“Sakura-san.”

We all stopped to look at Lee.

“The leaf lotus blooms twice,” he said quietly. Sakura merely looked confused. “The next time we meet, I will be a stronger man,” he explained. “I promise.”

She smiled at him. “Yeah.”

“Hey Sakura! Over here!” Ino called. “I’ll straighten your hair.”

“On that note, we’re leaving.” Kaemon led the way towards the tower.

“Hey Ran-san!”

I looked up from Yasuo’s shoulder at the pink-haired genin. “Yeah?”

“Thank you. For everything.”

I grinned. “Don’t mention it, kid.”


	30. Something's Not Right

I yawned widely as my team lined up to celebrate the end of the second exam. We had been living in the tower for close to three days when we were signaled to join everyone in the main room. Kohei clicked his beak, examining everyone around us

“What is it?” Yasuo asked, gently touching the tail feathers of the bird on my shoulder.

I shook my head. “Not sure. But someone or something in here is making him uneasy.” I stroked the soft feathers of his belly to try and calm him.

Kaemon sent a glance back to the two of us and nodded slightly. It was his way of saying that he was keeping an eye out for anything suspicious.

The teams of genin that had made it through the forest lined up in front of platform that was filled with our jounin leaders, prominent jounin from the Leaf and the Hokage. Kaemon and Yasuo pointed out the one petal ninja standing right in front of us.

“That’s Hiroki. He’s our sensei,” Yasuo whispered in to my ear. I gave him a nod.

There were nine teams in total that had made it through, twenty-seven of us out of eighty-four. _The odds were definitely stacked against us._

“First off, for the second test,” Anko’s voice rang out, gaining our attention. “Congratulations on passing!” There was a pause and some chattering around the room. “Hokage-sama will now explain the third test! Listen carefully!” She handed the microphone over the leader of the Leaf. “Now, Hokage-sama, please.”

“Yes,” the old man sighed. “For the coming third test… but before I explain that, there is something you should know. It concerns the true reason behind this exam. Why do we have all the allianced countries taking the exam together? ‘To promote friendship among the countries.’ ‘To raise the level of shinobi.’” He shook his head slightly. “I don’t want you to be confused about the true meaning. This exam is a replacement for war among the allied countries.”

**_Is that true?_ **

_Yeah. Things used to be really tense between everyone before they started doing these mass exams._

“What does that mean?” TenTen asked, her quiet voice ringing through the silent room.

The Hokage looked down at the ground. “If you go back in time, the current allies were enemies, who fought each other over who would rule.” He looked back at us, his eyes glancing over each of us. “In order to prevent a wasteful fight, the stage that these countries chose for battle, that is the origins of the Chuunin Selection Exam.”

This pissed someone off. “Why the hell do we have to do that crap?” Naruto yelled. “Isn’t this thing for deciding who’s a chuunin?”

The Hokage’s gaze landed on Naruto. “It is a fact that this exam decides which shinobi have what it takes to become a chuunin. But on the other hand, this exam has another side: where each country’s shinobi risks their own life to protect their land’s prestige. Watching this third exam will be leaders and influential individuals from many countries who make up the clients of the shinobi.” He gestured slightly towards the group of foreign shinobi behind him. “And the leaders of the countries will also be there to watch each of your battles. If the strength of a country is clear, that country will receive more clients. And conversely, if seen as weak, they will lose clients.” He puffed on his pipe for a moment. “And this will signal to potential enemy countries that ‘our village has this much power’, so it will send a political message to the outsiders.”

Kiba stepped forward this time. “Yeah, but why!?” he shouted. “Why do we have to risk our lives in battle?!!”

The leader’s voice lowered a bit. “The strength of the country is the strength of the village. The strength of the village is the strength of the shinobi. And a shinobi’s true strength is born only through life-risking battle.”

A murmur went through the crowd of genin. It was unnerving to figure out something you thought was just a test, was your village actually showing you off.

“This exam,” the Hokage started again, “is a place to see each country’s strength, and to show off your own strength. It only has meaning because lives are at risk. And that’s why those that have come before you have fought in the Chuunin Exam for this dream that is meaningful.”

“But then why…” TenTen had to work to figure out how she wanted to ask this. “Do you say stuff about it being for ‘friendship’?”

The old man paused. “I said it in the beginning; I don’t want you to confuse the purpose of this. By losing life and establishing balance, this is the shape of friendship in the world of the shinobi. Before we begin the third test, I will tell you one more thing. This is not just a test. This is a life-risking battle, with your dreams and your country’s prestige on the line.”

Another murmur trailed through the crowd.

_This is heavy stuff. It’s part of the reason Kusabana nin are how we are._

**_You guys are told this from the start?_ **

_Yeah._

**_Almost wish we were…_ **

“I get it,” Naruto smirked.

“I don’t care what it is,” a new voice rang out. I looked back at the redheaded sand boy standing a few rows over from me. “Just hurry up and tell us what this life-risking battle entails.”

“Yes,” the Hokage started. “I’d like to explain the third test but-”

A cough interrupted him. “Actually, I apologize, Hokage-sama.” A leaf jounin appeared before the old man, kneeling. “From here on, as the referee, will you please allow me, Gekkou Hayate?”

The old man looked down at the coughing ninja. “By all means.”

The new arrival stood to face us. “Hello everyone, I’m Hayate,” he coughed out. “Umm… before the third test there’s something I’d like you to do.”

_He looks like he’s about to keel over._

**_Should he be doing this if he is that unwell?_ **

“Umm… It’s a preliminary for the third test, to decide who gets to participate in the main event.”

Confusion rippled through the crowd. “Preliminary?”

“Preliminary! What do you mean?”

Sakura spoke up this time. “Sensei, I don’t understand this preliminary but, why aren’t all the people here allowed to participate in the next test?”

Hayate coughed again. “Umm… Because the first and second test may have been too easy this year. We have a bit too many people remaining. According to the Chuunin Exam Rules, we must have a preliminary and reduce the number of participants for the third test.”

“No way.”

“Really?”

“This sucks.”

“As Hokage-sama indicated earlier,” the jounin coughed, “there will be many guests at the third test. So the fights could take too long, and we are limited in time. Umm... So anyway… those who are not feeling well, or those who feel like quitting after these explanations, please come forward now, since we will be starting the preliminary immediately.”

“What?!”

“Seriously?”

“Right now?”

“You’ve got to be kidding me!”

“Umm,” a familiar voice rang above the others, “I’m going to quit.”

Naruto was shocked. “Kabuto-san?”

“Umm,” Hayate coughed, looking over the list of competitors, “You’re Yakushi Kabuto-kun from the leaf, right? You may leave now.”

_That name…_

**_What about it?_ **

I ignored her.

“Umm,” Hayate started, “Does anyone else want to retire? Oh… umm… I forgot to tell you that from now on it will be individual battling. You may raise your hand based on your own judgment.”

I ignored Naruto yelling at Kabuto and just watched the light-haired ninja. _It can’t be… really?_

**_Do you know him?_ **

_I know his father._

I could feel Rai’s confusion in the back of my head. She must not have seen that memory of mine yet.

“Since we now have exactly twenty-six entrants, we will conduct thirteen matches and… umm… the winners will advance to the third test.” Hayate looked back at the clipboard in his hand. “There are basically no rules. The fight continues until one of you dies or is knocked out or admits your defeat… umm… if you don’t want to die then quickly acknowledge your defeat.” He looked up at us. “But when I decide that the winner has clearly been established… umm… since we don’t want to pointlessly increase the amount of corpses, I’ll jump in and stop things. And the object that controls your destiny is…”

A grinding of gears and wood against wood rang through the room, causing all of us to look up.

“Is this… this electric scoreboard will show the match-ups for each battle. Now, this is sudden, but let’s announce the two names of the first fight.”

There was a whir, some electrical sounds, and the names Uchiha Sasuke and Akado Yoroi appeared on the screen.

_At least we’re not first._

“Now these two entrants come to the front.” The footsteps of the two called were heard and they appeared in front of the group of genin. “The two participants in the first fight are Akado Yoroi and Uchiha Sasuke. Are you ready?” Both the genin made agreeing noises. “Now, we will start the first match. Will everyone except the two participants move to the upper level?”

Kohei left my shoulder as I linked my hands above my head. “Come on, guys. Kohei is saving our spot.” I gestured to where he had landed on the railing above our heads.

Hiroki-sensei joined us. “Yasuo, Kaemon, I have orders from the Elders. You are to fail the preliminary.”

The three of us looked at the pretend sensei. “What?” we chorused.

He simply nodded. “Too many people are going to be there from when you passed the first time. We can’t risk it.”

Yasuo groaned as we headed up the stairs. “Fine, but that doesn’t mean I like it.”

“Understood, sir,” was Kaemon’s response.

“Amarante, you remember who this for?” his dark eyes looked down at me.

I scoffed as I leaned against the railing next to Kohei. “How could I forget? I can feel her, remember?” I asked, raising an eyebrow at the Kusabana ninja.

He nodded then stood against the wall, allowing us to watch over the railing to see the fights going on below.

“Ready guys?” I asked.

“Let’s go.”


	31. Preliminaries: Part 1

Sasuke and the leaf nin Yoroi stood ready to begin their fight below us.

“Hey guys, I’m tired. Wake me up when someone important goes. Like one of us, or someone from her team.” I moved back towards Hiroki, sliding to the ground and closing my eyes.

“Will do.”

“Hey, wake up.” A foot collided with my side.

“What the hell!” I yelled up at my sensei.

He nodded toward the ring. “Look.”

I sent him another glare and I moved to stand between Yasuo and Kaemon. “TenTen against Temari?”

**_I have a bad feeling about this._ **

_I know._

“The fifth match: Temari vs. TenTen,” Hayate announced.

“Good luck TenTen!” Lee shouted from a little ways down from us.

“Begin!”

We watched as TenTen launched weapon after weapon towards her adversary. My jaw dropped when Temari simply opened the giant fan that was on her back and with one sweep, forced them back towards Rai’s friend.

TenTen crossed her arms to block her from the flying weapons. “Fine! Dragon Twister!” She drew two long scrolls and thousands of weapons flew through them as she jumped in the air. Smoke-like dragons seemed to twist around her, giving the attack its name.

Temari struck. Blades of wind cut through the air, cutting through TenTen as a scream tore from her throat.

“Shit! TenTen!” I cried, Rai’s voice screaming in the back of my head and her fear was tangible.

A hand locked itself on my shoulder. “Don’t do this,” Kaemon whispered. “Don’t let them know.”

My hands twisted on the railing in front of me.

She was falling. Temari moved her fan so that TenTen landed with her back arched over the fan.

Temari looked over the girl. “How boring…”

The railing bent under my hands.

Hayate raised an arm. “The fifth match, winner, Temari!”

A smirk spread over the sand girl’s face.

“No…” I breathed.

She threw TenTen. The hand tightened over my shoulder and Yasuo’s landed on my other shoulder.

A flash of green and Lee was down there to catch his teammate.

I sighed in relief.

“Nice catch,” Temari sneered.

Lee raised a fist towards the female. “What are you doing? Is that how you treat someone who gave her all in battle?”

“Shut up,” she scoffed. “Take that loser and get out of here.”

Then he got that glint in his eye.

“Stop, Lee!” Neji shouted.

The green-clad boy wound himself up for the Leaf Spinning Wind. Temari blocked it easily with her fan.

“Just as I thought,” she smirked at the boy. “You’re also as pathetic as you appear to be.”

He glared at the girl. “What did you say?”

Gai hopped down to the lower level. “Lee, stop!”

“Gai-sensei,” Lee breathed, backing up from the girl.

“Temari, get up here!” Gaara called. “You’ve been declared the winner. Stop wasting time with that pathetic guardian guy.”

I slowly pried my hands from the bent metal that used to be the railing.

“Sand team,” Gai started, catching everyone’s attention. “There’s something I’d like to warn you about, if you don’t mind. This kid is strong. You better prepare yourself.” Together, they turned and headed back towards our level.

There was a whirring sound and the board read a new pair of names. Ookawa Yasuo vs. Ito Amaya.

Across the way, I could see a girl wearing a sound headband hop over the railing. She brushed her short blonde hair behind her ear and her dark purple eyes looked up towards Yasuo. “You comin’?”

The male groaned. “I have to lose to a girl?!” he mumbled as he joined her on the first level.

_At least make it look like you tried._ I leaned forward, resting my elbows on the bent railing. We watched as Yasuo cracked a couple of knuckles before sitting cross-legged on the ground in front of the female sound nin.

“What are you doin’?” she asked, tilting her head to the side.

“Getting comfortable.” He started drawing circles in the dust in front of him, the girl watching his movements.

Kaemon chuckled, moving a little closer to me. “He’s starting early.”

“You noticed?” I glanced towards him before settling my gaze back on my teammate in the ring.

“The sixth round with Ookawa Yasuo vs. Ito Amaya, begin!” Hayate called before hopping out of the way.

Neither of them moved, other than Yasuo drawing his circles in the dirt and Amaya’s eyes following his fingers. This went on for a few minutes.

“Hurry up and do something!” Naruto yelled from a few feet down from us.

I glared at the boy before moving next to him and Sakura, hooking an arm over each set of shoulders. “Watch closely,” I said quietly. “You might learn something.”

They both looked at me, then back at the two in the middle of the ring, neither having moved with Naruto’s screaming.

The circling continued. The girl’s eyes were now fogged over and unfocused.

Sakura looked at me, shocked. “Genjutsu?”

I smirked. “You’re smart, girlie. Yasuo is one of the best.”

All of a sudden, the girl shook her head, glared at the boy sitting in front of her and still making circles. With a cry, she sent a hard sidekick in to Yasuo’s head, sending him flying in to a wall on the other side of the room.

Hayate moved towards the unmoving boy and pressed a hand to his head. “Winner, Ito Amaya!”

Naruto deadpanned. “Really? He’s one of the best?”

I smiled. “Yep!” I pushed away from him and headed back to Kaemon, who had just returned carrying Yasuo over his shoulder. “He’s going to live?”

He nodded and dropped the boy next to our sensei. “He’ll be fine. He played well,” he said as he leaned against the railing again.

“Yeah, he just looks like a loser now,” I chuckled.

The whirring sound filled the air again and it read: Nara Shikamaru vs. Tsuchi Kin.

“He’s smarter than he looks,” Kaemon remarked.

I elbowed him in the side. “If you two had joined me when I trained with them, you would have known that, but no, you left me alone every damn time.” I grinned at the boy next to me. “I feel like I would end up like Kin if I fought him one-on-one.”

Kaemon laughed lightly. “Probably.”

The now familiar whirring sound went off again, making everyone look up to see the board change again, this time reading: Seishou Kaemon vs. Tanaka Kohaku.

“You ready?” I asked.

He shrugged. “I’m not going to win anyway.”

“Come on,” Yasuo said. “It’s not that hard.”

I lightly punched his arm. “You made yourself look like an idiot.” I grinned at him. “But I’m glad you’re awake. I want someone to talk to.” I pointed back at our sensei. “He doesn’t.”

Kaemon chuckled as he walked down the stairs, headed to face a white haired sound ninja. Kohaku’s dark eyes watched his opponent as he took his spot opposite.

“Match eight, Seishou Kaemon vs. Tanaka Kohaku: begin!” Hayate cried.

They started a lot quicker than the last couple matches. Kaemon shot off a few blasts of razor-sharp sakura petals before following it up with a blast of fire, similar to what Sasuke had done in the forest. The sound nin managed to dodge most of it, ending up with a few cuts and burns. He returned fire with a flurry of shuriken with senbon hiding in the shadows. They managed to lodge themselves in Kaemon’s legs and arms. That’s when I noticed it.

“He moved himself,” I whispered to Yasuo. “The needles hit in places that make it hard to move your joints.”

Yasuo nodded. “Smart guy.”

The sound guy launched himself across the ring, landing two feet in the stomach of our friend, sending him to the ground. Blood escaped Kaemon’s mouth, dripping on to the floor. Kohaku then drew a kunai, prepared to slash our friend’s throat.

“Winner! Tanaka Kohaku!”

I sagged with relief. “He made me worried there for a minute. Come on.” I moved towards our fallen teammate, looking down on him. “You want to go with the medic nin or do you want me to take care of you?”

“I’ll stay here.” He sat up slowly, allowing Yasuo and I to help him up and continue up the stairs. We sat him down against the wall.

**_This is going to hurt._ **

“This is going to hurt,” I warned the male, a green glow coming to my left hand and my right hand gripping the first of five senbon. The fight between Kiba and Naruto rang through the background. “Three, two,” I ripped out the senbon, “one.”

He flinched as I pressed the glowing hand to the hole in his knee. “Aren’t you supposed to wait for one?”

I pulled out the next one with no warning. “Yep.” Yasuo pulled out the two in his arm at the same time.

“You guys hate me,” he groaned, clenching his jaws together.

I pulled out the last one from his side. “No, if we hated you, we’d leave them in and let you rip them out yourself, or just not heal you afterward.” I ran my glowing hand over his chest, healing the damage in his lungs. “Feel better?”

He nodded pushing himself up to his feet. “How’s Naruto doing?”

We looked over the railing to see two Kibas and Naruto dragging himself to his feet. He looked roughed up and bloodied.

“If you’re gonna compete with me for the Hokage name,” Naruto said, glaring at the dog-like-boy. “I’m gonna whip you like a dog.”

Kiba pointed at the orange boy “Hey! Do you ever give it a rest?!” He turned to his double. “Akamaru, let’s do it!” The two of them headed towards Naruto launching a vicious attack.

“That’s why he’s so beat up,” Yasuo pointed out.

A cloud of dust was kicked up and the three boys disappeared. Then the strangest thing happened. When the dust settled, Naruto was gone and there were three Kibas.

I grinned. “Nice! Kiba and Akamaru are stuck now. They don’t know who to attack.”

Just then, one of the Kibas threw a punch, nailing another Kiba in the face and throwing him to ground.

“The smell. Naruto couldn’t change his smell,” Kaemon explained.

There was a poof: Kiba disappeared and a knocked out Akamaru appeared.

My grin grew wider. “Even better.”

“Smart kid,” Yasuo smiled.

Gasps of shock rang around the room. The Kiba that had launched the attack turned around and hit the remaining Kiba. A poof and another Akamaru appeared. The first Akamaru pushed himself to his feet and poofed in to Naruto, nailing a foot to Kiba’s face and knocking him backwards. Naruto yelled something about not falling in to traps, which the three of us laughed at, remembering when we first met the idiot. Kiba responded with biting his own hand and lowering his breathing rate. Kiba grabbed a few shuriken, placing them in the gaps of his fingers as he stood to face Naruto.

The orange ninja formed a seal with both hands. “With my new special technique, I’m going to end things!”

Kiba launched himself at Naruto and you could see the idiot clench up, readying himself for the impact. Kiba managed to get behind Naruto when an unspeakable thing happened.

Naruto. Farted.

Yes.

Farted.

Kiba howled in pain, his nose burned by the noxious fumes.

Yasuo and I laughed loudly, Kaemon biting his thumb to try and not laugh.

Taking his chance, Naruto created a four bunshin, making five of him. “I’m going to return the pain you gave me all at once!” All of the Narutos rushed Kiba, and launched in to the ‘special move’.

“That looks like Sasuke’s and Lee’s move,” Kaemon noted, leaning against the railing.

I grinned. “Well, he seems to learn quickly.”

“Winner! Uzumaki Naruto!”

Yasuo and I cheered loudly while Kaemon simply clapped. Cheers and yells soundly around the room, all for Naruto.

**_He sure has grown._ **

_Yeah, he has._

There was a whir of the board and two more names appeared as the medic nin removed Kiba from the ring: Amarante vs. Minami Satoru.

“Hey guys, guess I’m up.” I cracked my knuckles, heading for the stairs.

Yasuo gave me a thumbs up. “You can do it.”

I waved back at him, making my way to the ring where my opponent already waited. Satoru was dark-haired, unlike the rest of his team. His light blue eyes watched carefully as I took my place across from him.

“You look the rest of your team. Weak, and easy to beat,” he said softly, his head tilting to the side more than a normal person’s should. His eyes looked a little too wide and his grin a little too off kilter.

**_Careful, he’s not all there._ **

_I noticed that._

“Match ten between Amarante and Minami Satoru. Begin!”

I grinned at the boy. “Guess what?”

His head tilted the other way, again too far. “What?”

I disappeared from sight, appearing two centimeters behind him. “You’re going to lose!” I whispered in his ear. He threw an elbow, trying to catch me in the head but I was gone again. My gold eyes narrowed as I stood beside Hayate with my arms crossed. “Can you be a ninja and mentally unstable?” I asked the jounin.

He jumped, not expecting me to be so close. “Genin and chuunin don’t have to pass the mental health exam.”

I pouted for a minute, disappearing again as Satoru threw several kunai towards Hayate and me. “Too bad.” I rested an elbow on my knee as I sat for a moment on the railing in front of the sand kids. “Can you believe this?” I asked Temari, who looked a little shocked at my sudden appearance. “I get punished for being crazy, and he gets made a ninja. How is that fair?” I disappeared again as Kankuro and Temari had to duck from the shuriken thrown by the sound boy. I appeared next to him this time. “Would you knock it off?” I nailed a fist to the back of his head, knocking him on to his face. “You’re beginning to annoy me.”

He lay face down for a few moments. I kicked him in the foot. “Are you getting up or what? I thought this was supposed to be a fight.” He merely twitched. I looked toward Hayate. “What do you think?” He looked just as confused as I was. “I didn’t hit him that hard!” I said. I grabbed him by the back of his shirt, heaving him up to his feet before letting him go. He simply dropped to the floor in a heap. I sighed heavily, trying to keep my temper in check. “Get up!” I swung my foot hard in to his stomach, flinging him in the wall beneath his teammates. Yeah, he didn’t move then either.

**_So much for keeping your temper under control._ **

_Shut it._ I looked towards Hayate. “Are you going to call it or what? Because he doesn’t seem to want to fight anymore.”

He shrugged. “Win-”

A chilling laughter rang through the room, cutting off the jounin. I looked towards where the sound nin had his head stuck through a wall. He placed a hand on each side of the hole and pulled, his head becoming free with a puff of dust and rubble. The laughter became louder.

“Call the looney bin,” I groaned. I looked back at Hayate. “Maybe you should make those tests mandatory.” I disappeared from sight, appearing next to the laughing boy. I scowled as I grabbed him by the back of the shirt and hauled him up. That’s when I noticed something really weird. “What the hell?!” I dropped the kid and appeared in the center of the room.

“His head is on upside-down!” Naruto screamed from the balcony.

I glared at him. “No shit, Sherlock!”

**_I don’t think he knows who Sherlock is._ **

_We should introduce them. Right after I hurt the crazy guy._

The sound nin turned to face the open room, his chin facing the ceiling and his hair hanging towards the floor, his eyes now where is mouth should be and vice versa.

_I don’t think we’re supposed to bend that way._

He then bent in to a backbend, his head facing me, and started an awkward crab walk towards me.

“You creepy little fucker! What is wrong with you?!” I hollered at the boy, kicking him in the face when he moved too close. He flew in to the same wall again, creating another hole, before repeating the crawling motions toward me. “You’re a freak! Our joints aren’t supposed to work that way!” I screamed. “Hayate! Do something!!!” I ran towards the jounin.

“Like what?” the helpless man asked, looking just as freaked out as me. “He’s not doing anything against the rules!”

“But he thinks he’s a broken spider!!!” I screeched to a halt in front of him. “It’s not like I can smush him! He doesn’t smush!” I landed another kick to the boy for effect. “See?!?!”

“Ran-chan! Use your ninjutsu!” someone yelled from the balcony.

I glared at the crowd above me. “Shut up! I knew that!”

**_No you didn’t._ **

_I didn’t ask you!_ I quickly formed several seals, before slamming my hands into the ground. The vines that Rai typically used in her jutsus burst through the floor and wrapped themselves around the twisted limbs and neck of the boy. Eyes flashing gold, I gathered their ends in my hands and using all of my strength, whipped the sound ninja over my head to pile drive him into the floor. When the dust cleared, the boy was unmoving. He had blood streaming from a cut on his chin and his legs twitched. “Can you call it, please?!” I begged the jounin next to me, hoping I didn’t have to deal with the spider boy anymore.

“Winner, Amarante!”

“Thank you!” I shook my head. “I feel so gross! I hate spiders!” I headed back to my friends. “How come you guys got the ones that were willing to fight like normal people?” Kaemon and Yasuo shrugged.

Whirring sounded through the room again. The board read “Hyuuga Hinata vs. Hyuuga Neji”.

**_I might be taking over to save Hinata if this goes like I think it’s going to go. Neji-san hates her._ **

“Shit! This is not going to be good.” I hurried to the rail.

Yasuo and Kaemon joined me. “Why, what’s wrong?” Yasuo asked.

“According to her, Neji can’t stand Hinata for some reason. She’s worried that Hinata is going to be killed.” I tightened my grip on the railing. Apprehension ran from both Rai and myself.


	32. Preliminaries: Part 2

My team and I looked down where Neji and Hinata squared off in front of Hayate.

Neji’s eyes narrowed. “I never thought I’d be facing you, Hinata-sama.”

The female looked down at the floor. “Neji, brother…”

Yasuo looked at me as we could hear Naruto yell in confusion.

“They’re cousins. Their fathers were twins,” I explained, using the information from Rai’s memories. “She’s main house while he’s branch. For some reason, he can’t stand her. She doesn’t know why.” I leaned on the railing, crossing my arms in front of me. “But she’s scared that Hinata won’t make it through.”

“Begin!” Hayate called, bringing everyone’s attention to the ring.

“Before we begin the fight,” Neji started, stepping towards his female cousin. “I’d like to say something, Hinata-sama.” His eyes narrowed further. “You don’t make a good shinobi. Forfeit now!”

Hinata looked up at him in surprise.

“You are too kind,” he explained. “You wish for harmony and avoid conflict. You agree with others, never resisting.” His gaze hardened. “And you have no confidence in yourself. I feel your sense of inferiority, that’s why. I thought it would be best for you to remain a genin. But the chuunin exam can only be taken as a team of three. You couldn’t turn down your teammate’s request, and unwillingly entered. This is reality. Am I wrong?”

Hinata looked up at him, then back down at the floor. “I’m… No… I… I just wanted… Wanted to change myself… Do it myself…” she stuttered.

Neji scoffed. “Hinata-sama, as I thought, you are a spoiled brat of the main house.”

“Huh?” The venom in her cousin’s voice confused her.

“People cannot change themselves!” He raised his voice towards her. “Losers are losers. Their personality and strength will not change.”

_Why I oughta-_

**_Ran-san, I know. I want to throw something too._ **

“Because people cannot change,” Neji continued, “Differences are born. Expressions like ‘elite’ and ‘loser’ are created. Looks, brains, ability, size, personality: All people judge and are judged in these values. Based on these unchangeable factors, people discriminate and are discriminated against, and they suffer within their own means.” The older Hyuuga’s eyes narrowed. “Just like the fact that I am from a branch house and you are from the main house cannot be changed.” He pierced his glare into his younger cousin. “I have seen through many things with this Byakugan. So I know you are just acting strong. Deep inside, you just want to run away from here-”

“N-no!” Hinata interrupted. “I really-”

She was cut off under the pressure of Neji activating his Byakugan.

“You can’t fool my eyes,” Neji started, startling Hinata. “Against my pressure just now, you floated your eyes to the upper left. This is a sign that you are remembering your past experiences: your painful past. And after that, you looked to the lower right. That’s a sign that you are imagining physical and mental pain. Basically you are thinking about yourself and from all the experience until now, you are imagining the results of this match.” He glared doubled in pressure. “Imagining that you’ll lose!!”

Hinata drew her hands up to her face.

“The action of raising your arms in front of your body: that shows that you are trying to create a wall between us, create distance from me. You are trying to prevent me from figuring out how you are truly feeling. Because, everything I have said is totally right.”

**_Her breathing rate and heart rate are starting to rise exponentially._ **

“Furthermore, touching your lip is a personality trait revealing a disturbance. It’s a defense mechanism to soften the nervousness and worrying.”

**_Naruto is about to explode._ **

I turned my head towards the blood boy a few feet away. His teeth were gritted together so hard they were grinding.

“So basically, in reality, haven’t you already realized?” Neji paused for effect. “That you cannot change your-”

“You can!!!”

**_Told you._ **

_You’re pretty pissed off about this as well._

**_Yeah. But I’m stuck inside you and can’t do anything about it. He can._ **

The entire room turned to look at Naruto.

“Stop deciding things about people! Idiot!!” he shouted at Neji before turning to Hinata. “Kick that bastard’s ass!! Hinata!!”

_Her whole demeanor has changed._

**_Way to go Naruto!_ **

“Hinata! Stand up for yourself! This is hard to watch!” the blonde hollered.

Neji finally realized Hinata’s change. “So you won’t forfeit. I’m not responsible for what happens.”

Hinata formed a seal, activating her own Byakugan. “I no longer want to run away!” she cried before taking a familiar fighting position. “Neji, brother, we fight.”

We watched in fascinated horror as the two Hyuugas lashed out at one-another. Blow after blow was blocked, neither one landed a direct hit.

_Is there a reason for the weird fighting?_

**_It’s the way that Hyuuga’s fight. They can see chakra openings and can close them, burn them, even destroy them._ **

_That’s why you warned me about taking over._

**_You’ve probably seen a few of my memories from healing Lee._ **

Hinata’s hand glanced off of Neji’s side. _So close, girly._ It wasn’t deep enough to cause damage.

After that, it seemed like the tide had turned in Hinata’s favor. That is, until Neji landed a hand square in the middle of her chest. Blood poured from Hinata’s mouth.

A hand landed heavily on my shoulder and an arm wrapped around my waist, pulling me backwards. That’s when I realized I had been climbing over the railing to jump in.

“So this is it,” Neji’s voice rang quietly through the silent room. “The extent of the main house’s strength.”

In response, Hinata threw another hand towards Neji’s face. He caught it and we could see him jabbing two fingers right by her elbow. He then lifted her sleeve, exposed dark red, bruise-like dots covering her arm.

**_He’s been landing hits and closing her chakra openings. That’s why none of her hits had any effect._ **

_Geeze, your crush is a scary guy._

Neji threw her to the ground. “Hinata-sama, this is the difference in talent that can never change, the difference that divides an elite from a loser. This is a reality that cannot be changed.”

Hinata slowly pushed herself from the ground.

“At the point you said ‘I do not want to run’, you were setting yourself up for regret. You should be overcome with desperation right now. Forfeit,” he ordered.

Blood dripped from Hinata’s mouth as she pushed herself in to a standing position. “I… don’t go back… on my word,” she ground out. “That is also my ninja way.” She had a slight smile.

“Come,” Neji said quietly.

Before anything could happen, Hinata wrapped her hands around her own waist, gripping tightly as she coughed up more blood.

**_She can’t take much more._ **

I could feel Rai’s nervousness and fear running through my veins, tightening my muscles for action. I could also feel more of her presence as she readied herself to take over my body.

“You can do it, Hinata!” Naruto’s voice reverberated throughout the room as he screamed out to his friend.

His shout must have flipped a switch inside of Hinata’s head. She launched her attack and the two Hyuugas dodged and traded blows. But her body was starting to give out as she tripped, leaving herself open for a devastating uppercut from her cousin, knocking her backwards and starting another round of blood inducing coughs. She picked herself up one more time and threw herself towards her cousin, but missed. Neji nailed a hand in the middle of her abdomen. Her body gave out and she tipped forward, slumping to the ground.

“You don’t understand anything,” Neji said quietly, “From the beginning, your attacks have done nothing.”

**_That one hit her heart._ **

Yasuo and Kaemon tightened their grips on my shoulders, pulling me back from the railing. “They haven’t called it yet,” Yasuo said quietly in my ear. “Let them call it, then you can help her.”

Hayate stepped forward. “Continuing is impossible and thus-”

“Don’t stop it!” Naruto screamed.

I turned a heated glare towards the blonde. “Are you trying to get her killed?!” I screamed.

“What are you saying, you idiot!!” Sakura screamed at the same time. “She’s at her limit, she’s unconscious!”

Then, all eyes were glued to the ring as Hinata slowly pushed herself up once more. Even with blood dripping from her mouth and gripping her ribs tightly, she was standing.

“Hinata!” I screamed, causing Yasuo and Kaemon to pull me from the railing once more. You could almost hear Rai’s terror in my voice.

“It’s not over,” Hinata breathed.

Neji scoffed. “Acting tough is useless. You can barely stand. I can see that.” He reactivated his Byakugan. “From the time of your birth, the responsibility of the Hyuuga main house has been forced upon you. You have always hated yourself for your own weakness, but people cannot change. That is destiny.” His glared increased. “There is no need to suffer anymore. Let it go!”

Hinata’s voice was quiet. “That’s not true, Brother. Because, I can see it. It’s not me at all. The person lost and suffering within the destiny of the main and branch houses is you.” She was very matter-a-fact in her statement.

Neji’s Byakugan doubled in strength. That’s when he dove forward, aiming for his cousin.

Hayate stepped forward in shock. “Neji-kun! This match is over!!” he cried.

No one was stopping me this time. I threw the boys off of me and dove over the railing. I appeared behind the Hyuuga female and threw my arms around her, pulling her down towards the ground so she was sitting down and I had a leg thrown over her lap, my body protecting hers.

I looked up to realize that I wasn’t the only one that had jumped to her rescue. Hayate was standing in front of us, two fingers pressed in to Neji’s forehead. Kakashi had a hand wrapped around Neji’s arm, slightly pulling it towards the side. Gai had an arm wrapped around the Hyuuga’s neck and Kuranai was grabbing his other arm and ready to throw him to the ground.

I could hear Gai whispering in his student’s ear when I heard it. Hinata’s heartbeat was thrown in to ventricular fibrillation. This meant that her heart was going in to a dangerous set of contractions that could very well lead to cardiac arrest. Blood erupted from her mouth and she collapsed in my arms.

**_I’m taking over,_** was my only warning before I lost control of my body as Rai took over. The familiar green glow engulfed my hands as Hinata was slowly lowered on to the floor, one hand pressed in to her back and the other on her chest, both over her heart as she was laid on her side to keep her from choking on her own blood. I barely realized as Naruto hopped down next to me as Rai was quickly running calculations in her thoughts, not very much of it making sense to me.

“What are you doing?!” Kuranai screamed, pulling on my shoulder.

I kicked out at her, nailing her in the shin as Rai never strayed from her work. “You want me to save her? Or leave her to die?” I asked simply, never looking away from my charge. “Help me keep her on her side. I don’t want her to choke on her own blood,” I ordered after Rai’s thoughts.

Together, we lay Hinata on her side, making it easier for her to breath and for Rai to push the healing chakra in to the Hyuuga’s chest cavity, Kuranai making sure that her mouth was clear. “Come on, girly,” I breathed. “I need your help.”

Rai grabbed one of the Hyuuga’s hands, leaving one glowing hand on the girl’s chest. “ **Hinata-chan. Can you feel my heartbeat? I need you to listen to it. Can you follow it?** ” Rai kept her voice low, trying to match my own pitch. I could feel the reaction from Hinata. A hitch in her breath told me that she heard and a twitch in her fingers revealed that she was trying to feel my heartbeat.

“Kuranai-san, press her hand to my heart,” I ordered again, giving Rai another hand to keep the healing chakra going. Kuranai’s arm came under mine, staying out of Rai’s way, allowing her to press her hand back to Hinata’s chest, allowing the Hyuuga to rest on her back instead now that the airway was clear.

“Kusabana-san, we’ll take it from here,” a voice said behind me, alerting me of the arrival of the medic nin.

“No. She’s in too delicate of a state right now to abruptly change chakras,” I snapped at the older man, able to pull that from Rai’s rapid fire thought process.

I could feel the change of Hinata’s heart beneath my hands. It was starting to lose its erratic rhythm and settle down. “Come on, girly,” I growled. “You can do this.” A few seconds more and it was done. The heart was finally settling back in to a normal rhythm. “All done. Good job, girly,” I said gently as I smoothed her hair back in to place.

Her eyes opened slightly before sliding shut again, her head falling to the side slightly as she passed out from exhaustion and pain from the invading chakra.

“Okay, boys. She’s stable and she’s yours now. You better take good care of her.”

As she was loaded on to the stretcher, I was finally able to turn my attention toward Neji. “Hey, Kakashi? Can I?” I raised an eyebrow at the sensei.

He shrugged. “You can try. But Lee just stopped Naruto from doing it.”

I scoffed. “I’m faster than Lee.” Before he knew it, I was standing in front of Neji, bunching the front of his shirt in my fist as I pulled him down to my height. “Listen here, buddy,” I growled out, secretly excited by the widening of his pale eyes. “I’m not the only one who is pissed with what you did. You better make this up to Hinata, or I won’t be the only one hurting you. You hear me?”

A small smirk formed on the lips of the boy in my grasp. “You could actually do something to me? With the way you handled your opponent today, I don’t think I have to worry.”

Rai was pissed. **“Neji-san, you would do well to shut your mouth. You have no idea what we are capable of,”** she growled lowly, before raising a fist and nailing the Hyuuga in the cheek, easily putting him on the ground.

A hand landed on my extended arm, gently pulling me back. “Ran-san, please,” Lee said softly.

I placed my free hand on his. “Don’t worry Lee-san. We’re done here,” I said gently before making my way up to where my teammates were waiting. I ignored the black-clad sand ninja that followed Naruto and I back up to the upper level. I leaned against the railing between my teammates and watched the board whir for the second to last time.

A swish of sand broke the tension and drew my eyes in to the center of the ring. The red-headed sand boy appeared before our eyes, before the board even made its decision.

_Gaara vs. Rock Lee_

Lee was excited as he cheered before leaping over the railing to join his opponent.

_Hey girlie, start saving up your chakra for this one. You’re going to need it._


	33. Preliminaries: Part 3

“To be able to face you this early,” Lee said, squaring himself off in front of Gaara, “I couldn’t be happier.”

I twitched slightly when Lee moved before realizing that he has simply caught something. A cork plug?

“No need to get antsy,” Lee chided before dropping the item.

That’s when I realized where it had come from: Gaara’s gourd. _What’s going to happen now? I have a bad feeling._ I gently ran a hand over Kohei’s head, smoothing a few of the feathers back in to place.

“Now,” Hayate spoke up, “the twelfth match, begin!”

Lee nearly blurred out of sight as he launched himself towards Gaara. A cry of ‘leaf spinning wind’ echoed through the room. We were all surprised when his kick was blocked by a wall of sand. He fell back slightly before flying back in with another attack. Over and over: retreat, attack, and repeat. Lee was constantly blocked by this flow of sand that had streamed out from the gourd-like container on Gaara’s back. We were startled when the sand became a set of hands, reaching for the leaf ninja has he back-flipped away from the danger, landing on top of the stone statue of hands that encompassed the front of the room.

Gai’s voice rang out suddenly. “Lee, take them off!”

“Please don’t say he meant the pants,” Yasuo pleaded quietly. “Please, not the pants.”

I smacked him upside the head. “No, you idiot. Lee can’t use ninjutsu or genjutsu like normal ninjas, so his training is different from ours.”

“But, Gai-sensei,” Lee called back, “that’s only for when I must protect many precious people, isn’t it?”

“What are they talking about?” Yasuo whined, not enjoying that he wasn’t understanding what was going on.

“Just watch!” I huffed, getting annoyed.

“It’s alright!” Gai called back. “I’ll allow it!” He gave the boy a thumbs up.

Lee smiled before sitting down and pulling at the orange legwarmers he wore, exposing a large set of weights wrapped around his ankles. “All right!” he cried, standing up while dropping the weights off to each side of the statue. “Now I can move easier!”

Yasuo scoffed. “It can’t make that much of a difference.”

It almost seemed to be the result of an explosion where the weights hit the ground, sending plumes of debris and dust over a dozen meters in to the air.

Yasuo let out a low whistle. “Well, I was wrong.”

“We underestimated him quite a bit,” Kaemon said softly, crossing his arms over his chest and leaning on the railing.

“Lee! Go!” Gai yelled.

With that, Lee seemed to disappear. He appeared momentarily only when he stopped to change direction or made contact with the sand shield. But this time, he actually seemed to be breaking through it. Lee appeared again, almost hovering over Gaara’s head, before nailing a vicious double kick to the top of the sand boy’s head. Gasps rang around the room, particularly from the red-head’s teammates. A cut had appeared on Gaara’s face, following along his cheekbone.

Lee slid back a bit as he landed from the attack. “Now, we’re just getting started.”

“Lee!” the sudden cry from Gai came. “Explode!!”

And that is exactly what Lee did. Over and over, he struck out at the sand boy. Gaara whipped around wildly, trying to keep track of him, only to be struck down by a vicious punch to the cheek. Then something odd and kind of creepy happened.

“What the hell?” Yasuo asked, leaning over the railing some.

“He has a face, underneath his face,” I said slowly.

Kaemon leaned against the railing next to me. “Odd…”

It seemed he had a sand ‘shell’ around his body and Lee had cracked it, causing pieces to fall off. Underneath was an insane grin.

“They REALLY need to make those mental health tests mandatory,” I grumbled.

Lee was shocked a bit, but quickly regained his composure, readying himself for an attack. He could only watch as the sand armor slowly reformed around the foreign boy.

“Is that all?” Gaara asked, surprising the room.

Yasuo chuckled. “He speaks.”

Slowly, Lee started unwrapping the bandages around his hands, letting them trail to floor.

“He’s doing it again,” I said. “He’s using the Lotus.”

We watched with fascination as Lee disappeared, only to reappear when he launched Gaara up in the air with a tremendous kick.

“Gaara’s too heavy,” Kaemon observed, noticing the fact that Lee kept having to re-kick the boy to get him high enough.

Lee flinched in pain from the attack.

“Did he-“ I started to ask.

“Yes, he did.” Yasuo said, lacing his fingers together in anticipation.

The bandages wrapped around Gaara, and the two boys were headed head first in to the floor, Lee hopping away at the last minute. In the middle of the smoking crater, Gaara was laying there, not moving.

Lee landed next to the hole. You could tell that he was hurting from the attack, but he had to make sure that Gaara was down.

Then, before everyone’s eyes, Gaara’s form began to crumble away leaving only a pile of sand in the middle of the crater. At the same time, a new pile of sand was forming behind the leaf nin, Gaara appearing to grow from it.

Lee flinched as he realized his opponent was now behind him and ready to attack while he was still hurting.

“Lee can’t defend himself.” I could feel Rai beginning to fret, her worried thoughts starting to pervade in to mine. We could only watch as the sand boy threw wave after wave of sand at Rai’s teammate.

Gaara stopped after a few minutes of this, revealing that Lee had been smashed back in to the wall, creating a crater in which he as defending himself.

“That Lotus crap really hurts him,” Yasuo grumbled. He leaned forward over the railing. This was the most serious that Rai or I had ever seen him.

“That’s why it’s a Forbidden Technique.” I rubbed my head. Rai’s overwhelming emotions were beginning to give me a major headache. _Rai, I have a feeling that you are not going to be able to help him._

**_I do too. I promise I will stay up here._** The girl sounded so sad. I knew that if it was Rai’s face on the outside, she would have been crying. Even so, I had to really work to keep the genin’s emotions separate from mine to keep my eyes from tearing up.

We could do nothing but watch as Lee was thrown around the arena, unable to do anything but try and block the blows from the deadly sand. Just when we thought that would be it, Lee dodged and stood up straight.

“Nice!” I cried out, leaning over the rail slightly to be able to watch better. My eyes shimmered against my will but I was able to keep the tears from falling.

**_Wait, is he going to…_ **

_Rai?_ I looked closer in to the stance that Lee had taken: stand slightly curled over with his arms crossed in front of his face. Then, I felt his energy. “Guys…”

Kaemon and the fake sensei came up alongside me. “He’s releasing the Celestial Gates!” the younger male breathed.

Lee’s skin started to darken, ending up a deep red. With a horrendous cry, the third and fourth gates were opened. A harsh wind blew through the arena. I and the other Kusabana nin couldn’t help but close our eyes and try to protect our faces from the blowing debris. We opened their eyes to see Lee bashing the sand nin around the air space of the arena. We could see pieces of the sand armor being ripped off of the sand boy. With another cry, the fifth gate was opened. Rai’s teammate smashed Gaara towards the ground, before pulling him back up by his sash to pummel him with a devastating kick and punch combo to the abdomen. The petal team was able to keep our eyes open this time to see the gourd of sand come apart to make a cushion, much like Zaku had done for Dosu in the forest. Lee collapsed on to his side, his skin back to its normal shade.

It took a few moments for the dust to settle. When it did, it revealed Gaara plastered to the floor, with his hand outstretched. It took us but a moment to realize he was controlling the sand to wrap around Lee’s left arm and leg. With the closing of Gaara’s hand, the bones in both extremities were destroyed.

I could feel Rai’s despair as the genin worked hard to keep her promise of staying up on the balcony. I could not stop the tears that rolled down my cheeks as I gripped the railing hard enough to leave finger indentations in the bent metal. I could only watch, nearly overwhelmed by Rai’s fear as Gaara sent another wave of sand towards the younger teammate.

I couldn’t help but breathe a sigh of relief when Gai stepped and blocked the sand from touching his pupil. I rested my head on my arms as I tried to pull myself back together and separate Rai’s emotions from mine. I felt Yasuo clap his hand on my shoulder, reassuring me silently that everything was going to be okay.

We looked up again when the match was called: “Winner, Gaara!” Hayate said, officially ending the match.

“Ran!” Kaemon’s cry brought my attention to the fact that Lee was standing up again. His arm and leg were completely destroyed and he was unconscious, but he was standing up again.

I couldn’t help but laugh sadly.

**_It would take a herd of rhinos to keep him down, followed by a stampede of antelope and elephants,_** Rai sighed quietly. Her fear had been reared in and she had kept her promise of staying up on the balcony.

I ran a hand through my hair, trying to remember how to breathe properly. Sharing your emotions with someone else and feeling theirs could definitely be a bitch. If you can avoid it, do!

**_Ran…_ **

Rai’s voice had turned sad and my eyes were starting to fill up with tears again. “What?” I asked aloud, turning towards the arena again. That’s when I noticed Gai’s posture.

**_I took over your hearing. They said he will never be able to live as a shinobi again._ **

I wasn’t able to stop Rai’s emotions this time. Tears streamed down my cheeks at the thought of such a spirited boy never being able to complete his dream of being a great ninja.

Yasuo grabbed my arms, making me face him. “Ran?”

I shook my head, completely overwhelmed by my emotions and hers at the same time. “He’s not… They can’t help…” I managed to get out.

The blond almost hugged me, but remembered at the last second that I would probably throw him over the balcony for it. “They’ll figure it out,” he reassured me and Rai at the same time. “They’ll find someone who can.”

**_Lee-san…_** Rai whimpered. I turned and watched as they carried Lee away and Naruto yelled after the medics and was dragged back up to the balcony by Kakashi.

“When did Naruto end up down there?” I asked, wiping at my eyes, making Yasuo let go of me in the process. “And why does all of this mess make me want to punch Neji again?”

Yasuo and Kaemon laughed. “I suppose because it’s because of the fact that we all want to beat each other at this game,” Kaemon explained, “We want to win so badly that we end up destroying ourselves in the process.”

I shook my head. “We did it too,” I responded, thinking of the fact that I had turned over my soul to a demon to gain the power I felt I needed to be recognized.

I watched Yasuo pull at the chain that hung around his neck, revealing a simple circular charm with an “H” engraved on it. If I remembered correctly, it was his father’s. Kaemon looked more distant and crossed his arms over his chest and his back ram-rod straight, an odd thing to do for him. He was usually very open with his posture.

“Well then, for the final match: contenders, please step forward!”

We pulled out of our heads and turned towards the arena for one last match. I watched Rug-man hop over the railing and I grinned at the guys next to me. “Hey Rug-man!” I hollered, making the sound ninja look up at me. “Go die!” I stuck my tongue out at him and gave him a thumbs down. He simply flipped me off, ignoring me otherwise. “That wasn’t very nice!” I called back to him.

“Neither was what you said,” Kaemon responded.

“Shut up,” I grumbled. “Huh, Chouji vs. Rug-man. Never thought they’d be last.”

“You wanted to be last,” Yasuo muttered.

I grinned at him. “Well, yeah! The people who go last HAVE to put on the best show!” I heard a soft giggle in the back of my mind, making me smile again. It was helping pull Rai out of the bad mood from Lee’s situation.

All of a sudden, the whole balcony shook, making me grab on to the railing to stay upright. Yasuo fell over taking Kaemon down with him.

“What the fuck was that?” I asked, looking down at the arena just in time to hear that stupid, high-pitched noise maker that Rug-man wore on his arm.

“Chouji’s out,” Kaemon replied as he shoved Yasuo off him to stand. “He apparently didn’t remember that sound waves travel better through solids than air.”

“Winner! Kinuta Dosu!” Hayate called.

I rolled my eyes. “That was fast.”

“Well, with this, the preliminary trials for the Round Three test has been completed!” Hayate cried out, officially ending this part of the Chuunin test.

“See you guys outside. I’ll let you know what happens,” I called over my shoulder as I headed down to the arena floor (or what was left of it) with the rest of the winners.

“See ya!” Yasuo called out as he pushed Kaemon towards the exit. I could hear the two of them grumbling their entire way out, followed by the silent pretend-sensei.

While the losers of the matches filed out while we winners lined up to figure out what was going on in the next phase of the Chuunin Exams. I planted myself next to Naruto and Rug-man, both Rai and I really not wanting to be anywhere near Neji or that Gaara kid. Hayate, Anko, Ibiki and the Third were lined up in front of us.

“I thought your team was one of the best,” Naruto wondered aloud.

“Yeah, they are. What of it?” I asked, skeptical of his response.

“Then why are you the only one here?” He leaned closer like it was some huge secret I would gladly let him in on.

I raised an eyebrow at him. “Politics,” I answered simply, turning back to the higher-ups of the Leaf Village.

“To all of you who won the rights to compete in the ‘Third Round Test’ in the Chuunin Exam,” Hayate stopped for a second to hack up a lung, “One is missing, but congratulations to you all!” He turned back to the older man behind him. “Ah, well then, Hokage-sama, if you would please?”

“Yes.” The elderly man stepped forward. “Well, now I’d like to start explaining the main test.”

I shook my head. _Should have just done this in the first place._

“As I told you before, in the main event, your matches will be seen by everybody. Each of you will fight to represent the strengths of your countries. I’d like you to show off all your powers with no reserves, which is why the finals will be held one month from now.”

I sighed. “Seriously?” I grumbled under my breath.

“We’re not going to do it here, right now?” Naruto blurted out. I couldn’t help but sigh again at his question.

“This break, you can say, will be for preparations.”

“What does that mean?” Neji asked. I rolled my eyes. Was everyone in this village dumb and had to ask dumb questions?

**_Be nice._ **

_Yeah, yeah, yeah. You’re excluded in that bunch._

**_If I didn’t know any better, I’d say you were beginning to like me._ **

I didn’t dignify that with a response.

“In other words, in addition to informing all the various country lords and shinobi leaders, this is the time needed to arrange for the gathering of the event, and this is also the preparation time for you examination students.”

“I don’t understand what you’re trying to say! What does that mean?” Kankuro interrupted.

I was fed up. “It means he’s giving us the month off to learn everything we can and heal up and train our literal asses off so we have the best chance of winning and becoming chuunins.” I shook my head. “Seriously, I’m surrounded by idiots!” I heard a quiet chuckle from Dosu next to me. “You’re included in that group too, Rug-man. Seriously, look at what you’re wearing!” I crossed my arms and looked back at the Hokage.

“Thank you, Amarante. Also, it is the time period where you will calculate your chances of winning by analyzing the data you accumulated during the trial competition. The battles up to now had you fight as if you were in an actual combat situation with the assumption of fighting an unknown opponent. However, the final trial will not be like this. There are those who showed all that they can do already to their rivals. There are those who competed and were badly injured against a strong opponent. To make everything fair, the one month should be used by all of you to advance and improve yourselves. Of course, it’ll be fine to rest your body as well.”

“See, that’s exactly what I said!”


	34. Getting Ready for the Final Exam

“Are you sure you’ll be okay, girlie?” I asked, standing up from the edge of the hospital bed where I was sitting.

“Of course,” Hinata insisted. “You’ve been visiting me every day and then meeting your team to train. You must be so tired.”

“Eh, I don’t need sleep!” I insisted. “But I do have to go meet them. Only fifteen more days until the big matches.”

“Do you know whom you’re fighting? You haven’t told me yet.”

I waved the Hyuuga off. “I’m fighting that sound dude that beat Kaemon up. And after I beat his ass, I’ll fight whomever wins the Rug-man vs. sound-chick-that-beat-up-Yasuo fight.”

“Do you ever use the names of people you don’t like?

I grinned. “Nope.” I turned away from her, heading out from the hospital. “See ya, girlie!”

I closed the door behind me, coming face to face with someone I really didn’t feel like talking to. “What do you want, Blind-boy?”

Neji sighed. “My uncle asked that I drop this off for Hinata-sama,” he explained, gesturing to the flowers in his hand.

“Whatever.” I snatched them from him. “I’ll take care of them. You just stay the fuck away from her.”

He didn’t say anything else. He simply turned and walked away. I raised an eyebrow at him. _Kinda wanted him to say something so I could hit him._ I didn’t get a response from that little voice in the back of my head. _Hey you, what’s going on back there?_

**_Yeah, sorry._ **

_You already want to forgive that bastard?_

**_No, but-_ **

_Rai, girlie, he doesn’t give a shit about anyone but himself. I’ve seen his type before. Dated them. Fucked them. Trust me, they aren’t great in bed._

**_I’m only fourteen. I’m not thinking about anyone in that manner. Besides, with only your memories for information, I’m not too interested in trying it for myself._ **

_You don’t know what you’re missing, girlie._ I ducked back in to the room and handed Hinata the flowers, quickly excusing myself again. _Time to go beat the shit out of Yasuo and Kaemon again. When do you think that Kohana representative is going to get here?_

**_The way Hiroki-san made it sound was that he was supposed to be here several days ago._ **

_At least you stopped calling him sensei. That douche thinks he can teach me crap? He’s just mad that I beat him during our first chuunin exams._ I headed out of the hospital and down the street towards Rai’s house. There was a clearing off of Rai’s backyard that we had been working in… and slowly expanding due to knocking down trees… mostly by me throwing Yasuo in to them.

**_That badly?_ **

_Eh, Hiroki was a whiny bitch at the time. Still is._

Yasuo and Kaemon were already in the clearing along with someone I didn’t know. He had blue eyes, kind of a medium blue, with a Kusabana headband though. That meant he was the Kohana rep we had been waiting on. “About time you showed up!” I chided him, dumping my bag against the tree as I began to stretch.

“I apologize, I had some urgent business to take care of. I am Kohana Mokuba and you are Amarante, not one of my clan. I was told that I would be working with one of my clan.” The fair-haired male glared at my teammates.

“Hey dude, chill. My other half, as I have been calling her, is Kohana. And from what I’ve been told, she’s the strongest with the secret that has ever been born.”

“How do I know you are not lying to me?”

I sighed, sitting down on the ground, knowing that Rai would be disoriented when she woke up in control. “Give me a sec and you’ll meet her.” _Ready girlie? You’re up!_ My vision went black.

I shook my head slightly, trying to get reacquainted with being in control. I moved each of my fingers in a series followed by my toes, trying to remember how to be in control. “Good afternoon,” I stood and greeted to everyone. “My name is Kohana Rai.”

I felt a hand come out of nowhere and grab my arm, pulling me backwards in to a warm body. I recognized the hand through Ran-san’s memory, it was Yasuo.

“What the hell are you doing?” he growled out at the Kohana.

“Her eyes. If she was really the most powerful of us, her eyes would be a much darker blue, almost black.” Apparently, he had been reaching for my face to look closer at my eyes.

I gestured slightly to Yasuo to let me go. “My brother, Towa, blinded me several years ago. The effects of the poison lightened my iris and closed the pupils within a short time frame of about twenty-four hours. They used to be very dark blue.” I stepped closer to the Kohana in front of me. “You can still see the scarring around my eyes, though healing creams have faded them quite a bit.”

“You are a ninja even though you are blind?” the man questioned. His hand came down on the top of my head and I could feel his breath against my nose, telling me he had come very close to my face.

“Yes, though I’m not very good at taijutsu.” I shrugged slightly.

“I heard your father placed an obedience seal on you.”

I nodded. “From what I understand, he asked that it be worked in to the sealing that held Ran-san within me.” I gestured to my stomach, where the seal was visible due to our recent change in form. “I also believe that since Ran-san’s spirit has been set somewhat free, the obedience aspect has been lifted. Ran-san never listens to orders.”

“Sit down,” Mokuba spat out.

I raised an eyebrow at the man (apparently something I’ve picked up from Ran-san). “I’d rather not, thank you.”

“So the obedience aspect has been lifted. We will have to make sure that the addition of Amarante’s soul hasn’t changed your blood chemistry.” With that said, I heard the sound of a kunai being pulled out and a hand grabbing my wrist. I hissed as the sharp blade sliced a long line across my forearm. “There. We’ll see what happens tomorrow.”

I pulled a bandage out of my hip pouch. “It still really hurts if that’s what you’re wondering.” I wrapped my arm quickly, stopping the bleeding.

“It’s supposed to.” He turned to Ran’s teammates. “I’ll return tomorrow to see what happens. Until I find out the truth, I will not train her.” I heard him head out of the clearing.

“Well, he wasn’t very nice,” I muttered before thanking Yasuo as he tied the bandage for me.

“The Kohana Secret isn’t known outside of Kusabana. People see it as something that needs to be protected, otherwise every weapon used would be poisoned or the like,” Kaemon explained. “You should probably switch back, just in case.”

I nodded. _Ready, Ran-san?_

**_Yeah, hurry it up._ **

I shook my head and closed my eyes.

“That guy was a fucking asshat.” I looked closer at the wrapping on my arm, making sure the slice was covered. “Yasuo, thank you for trying to keep her safe.”

“It’s my job,” he shrugged.

I felt a slight twinge of something in the back of my head. _Hey girlie, they haven’t gotten to know you like I have._ “Way to go, you bugger, you upset her.”

**_It’s fine, Ran-san, I know they are only protecting us on orders from the Council._ **

“No, it gives me an excuse to beat his ass in taijutsu again.” I started to work on cornering him between two trees.

“Ran, you said you would give ninjutsu a try today,” he said, backing away from me, “You don’t go back on your promises.”

“Who says I’m not practicing?” My voice rang from several directions. Kage bunshin looking like me worked in my plot of corning the genjutsu specialist. “Even Kaemon has run away from this.”

“Oh shit.”

“Stop laughing at me!”

The declaration only made me laugh harder. “You look like such an idiot right now!” I looked over at Kaemon. “He’s laughing too!”

“Shut up!” the blonde screamed as his face became redder and redder from the blood rushing to his head.

I finally succeeded in laughing so hard I cried. Only Yasuo could brag about getting out of and avoiding any trap then succeed at getting trapped in his own, stepping in to the noose and having it pull him in to the trees.

“Use those abdominal muscles!” I cried up at him as he tried to undo the knot around his foot. “And she’s laughing at you too!” I couldn’t help but giggle along with Rai at the sight of Yasuo being twenty feet up in the air, hanging by one foot.

“You look like a demented starfish,” Kaemon added, standing next to me with is arms crossed and a shit-eating grin on his face.

“And you look like a troll!” the blonde bit back, managing to reach the loop on his ankle but not able to keep himself up long enough to be able to do anything with it. “Why won’t you guys help me?!”

“You got yourself up there, you get yourself down.” I gave him a grin and leaned back against a tree to watch this happen.

“Amarante.”

I glanced over at the boy who called my name. “What do you want, Blind-boy? Can’t you see we’re busy?”

The Hyuuga scoffed. “Watching your teammate act like an idiot, I can see you’re really busy.” He shook his head. “I want to speak to her.”

It was my turn to scoff. “Do you think she wants to speak to you?”

“She doesn’t get it.”

“She watched you try and kill your cousin, a girl she cares for. She saved Hinata’s life, one you tried to destroy.” I waved him off. “I should tell you… you know what, I don’t think I will.”

“Tell me what?” Neji drew closer. He made it obvious that he was taller and stronger than Rai was, seeing as this was her body. But he didn’t know shit about me. He didn’t know that every passing day, Rai and I became a little more combined and my strength was becoming hers as well.

“What if I told you Rai was disappearing, that I was taking over? What would you think then?” This wasn’t true, but I wanted to see what he would do. He hadn’t been able to pick up a lie from me yet, so I wanted to push him some more.

“Wouldn’t she be the dominant personality, seeing as it’s her body?” he questioned. He was looking a little unsure of himself.

“You would think that, but when has she ever been dominant in anything? I have the stronger personality, so this body is slowly becoming mine. You have any last words you want to say to her?”

“You’re lying to me.” His hands balled in to fists and I could almost see the chakra around them.

“Am I? Has she tried to speak to you at all during this conversation? She’s not even talking in my head right now.” The girl back there was definitely listening, but I couldn’t even begin to decipher her feelings right now. They were too muddled up.

He didn’t seem to be able to answer me. He kept making his hands in to fists then releasing them again.

“If you’re not going to say anything, you’re in the way. Get out of here before you get killed by a passing jutsu.” I turned my back on him and moved up next to Kaemon. “Want to use him for target practice?” I smirked slightly as I heard the Hyuuga walk away.

“He’d just complain more.” The raven-haired male tossed a kunai a few times before throwing it upwards towards where Yasuo was still hanging. It sliced through the rope easily, sending the blonde crashing to the ground.

“You both suck balls, you know that?” he grumbled as he pushed himself up.

I was so used to being able to see through Ran-san’s eyes, I had lost some of my ability to sense those around me. So while we waited for the Kohana representative to show up, Kaemon and Yasuo were helping me to sense properly again.

“I should have been able to tell that he was reaching for my head yesterday.” I sat down in the middle of the clearing.

“You haven’t been in control for more than a few hours since you discovered Ran almost a year ago. You wouldn’t be in top shape after spending all that time sleeping or in a hospital either.” Yasuo and Kaemon were making different hand signs and channeling chakra to help me remember what each one felt like.

They went through every sign several times then started to make me guess which sign. I am happy to say that I was correct ninety-five percent of the time. Afterwards, they started to move around, having me throw kunai at them to make me keep track of their chakra signatures. Within two hours, I felt like I was back to where I used to be.

“Kohana Rai.”

I looked up at the sound of my name being called. “Yes?” I could tell the new chakra from Yasuo and Kaemon’s, better than I was doing this morning.

“Untie the bandage.” I could feel him right in front of me as I easily pulled the knot out, revealing the flesh of my arm. A hand grabbed it and turned each way to look closer. “Not even a scar. I guess you are a Kohana after all.”

I brushed my fingers over where the cut had been less than twenty-four hours ago. “I hope you can explain to me something. If Kohana blood has major healing properties, why didn’t my eyes heal?”

“You said he used poison?” I nodded. “Kohana blood has very little defense for poison, much less than other ninja. If he used the poison I think he did, it would have caused only temporary blindness in others. For a Kohana, it blinded you.”

“So we have to deal with the lower pain tolerance and lower poison tolerance to be able to survive having your heart pierced with a kunai?”

“Exactly. Now, are you ready to get started? I’ve heard you are a fantastic healer.”

**_He seems much nicer now than when he didn’t believe you were a Kohana._ **

_Sadly, it seems you are right._ “I am a decent healer. I am simply glad that I can still use that skill when Ran-san is in control of our body.”

“Well, we’ve heard rumors that friends of your brother have been sneaking around. We are going to make sure you are ready for when they move in.”

I stiffened slightly. “When?”

“Let’s get started.”


	35. The Third Exam

Finally, the day had come. We could finally put this whole chuunin mess behind us. We just needed Rai to become a chuunin, meaning I have to make her pass.

The jerk-face from the Kohana clan was in the stands today, along with the douche of a pretend sensei, Kaemon, and Yasuo.

I looked around the arena, focusing on my opponents for the day. Everyone seemed to be here but Sasuke and Rug-man. What the hell happened to those two? They’d be the last two to show up late. Then again, Sasuke has been hanging around Kakashi lately, so who know what the Copy-Cat ninja has had him doing.

“Hey, stop looking around. Face the customers,” our ref hollered at us. “In this main tournament, you guys are the stars.”

The stands were absolutely full to bursting. There were people standing in the back for a chance to watch these matches today. _How many Kages were there supposed to be today?_

**_Two, if I remember correctly: the Kazekage and Hokage-sama. There are also two of the Elder Council here, Mokuba-san was saying. We’re supposed to meet them after our match._ **

I shrugged as I glanced down the line of contenders. _If Rug-man isn’t here, that means I’m going to have an extra round. This sucks balls._

**_Yasuo has you saying that now._ **

“Thanks everyone for coming to the Hidden Leaf Chuunin Selection Exam!” the Hokage’s voice rang out in the arena, easy enough for all to hear. “We will now start the main tournament matches between the eleven participants who made it through the preliminaries! Please stay and watch until the end!”

With that said, the entire stadium erupted in cheers and calls. I glanced over to the right side of the arena, knowing that Kaemon and Yasuo were sitting right against the wall of the arena, having come early to secure the front row seats. I spotted them easily but had to turn my attention to referee. He was holding up a new chart with our tournament on it. _Yep, I have an extra fight now. Rug-man isn’t here to go against the sound girl anymore._

**_Do you think you can do it?_ **

_Of course I can. It’s just annoying._

“Alright guys, this is the final test,” the referee started. “The arena is different, but the rules are the same as in the prelims: there are none. You fight until one of you dies or acknowledges defeat. But if I determine that the fight is over, I’ll step in and stop it, you got that?”

There was a round of nods and acknowledgement.

“Now, the first fight: Uzumaki Naruto vs. Hyuuga Neji. Those two stay here while the rest of you go to the waiting room.”

Everyone started to file off while I stayed behind a second. “Hey, Naru!” I called, gaining the blonde’s attention. “You need to kick this guy’s ass. And if you don’t do it, I will, but I’m pretty sure you need to release some energy more than I do.” He gave me a thumbs up and I turned to Neji this time. “Hey Blind-boy!”

“Aren’t you going to call me by my name? You used to do it just fine.”

“I just wanted to say that I have a friend who’s worried about you. She thinks you could be so much better but you have your head so far up your ass that you can’t see the light. I want you to hurry up and figure it out, so you can stop making her worry.” With that said, I walked away up to the waiting room, not bothering to find out if he had anything to say in return.

**_Who do you think will win?_ **

_I believe it could go either way._

“Now for the first fight: Begin!”

In the beginning, it looked like that Neji was going to absolutely destroy Naruto. The blonde was just throwing clone after clone at the Hyuuga and he just kept making them pop. It especially looked bleak when it was realized that Neji could use both Kaiten and the Sixty-Four Hands of Hakke.

But there is no way to describe how excited we all were when Naruto stood up again after being hit with all of those blows.

“Come on, Naru!”

But then, Neji told his story about how what was so different between the branch family and the main family (one Rai hadn’t heard before). He told the story about the Cloud shinobi and his father’s death.

**_It explains why he is in so much pain._ **

_And it explains why he spoke to Naruto, Hinata, and even you that way._

**_Why is it always Naruto that changes people’s minds? You hated him the first time you met him._ **

_That’s because he was an idiot. Still is one, actually._

All of a sudden, there was a swirl of power curling around Naruto.

**_The Kyuubi!!!_ **

_That brat is the container for the Kyuubi? No wonder Kohei liked him!_

I looked down on him again, noticing this time the difference in this chakra and the one he was using before, tapping in to Rai’s skills to be able to do that.

We weren’t the only ones that were shocked. You could see it through the whole crowd that they were astounded that Naruto was able to push chakra through what was supposed to be closed points. You could almost see nine tails whipping back and forth like an angry cat.

Then, they flew. Shuriken were thrown, Kaiten was spun and Naruto just seemed to be getting faster and faster. Naruto made a declaration saying that when he became Hokage, he would change the Hyuuga, making sure that no one had to go through what Neji and his father did, no one would have to go through what Hinata had been through. Then there was a big explosion, blasting the two opponents in to opposite ends of the arena.

It looked like it was over. It really did with Neji being the only one standing and Naruto collapsed where he had landed, but then the ground exploded beneath Neji, revealing the real Naruto. He delivered a devastating uppercut to Neji’s chin, knocking him off his feet.

Now, it was over. Naruto was the winner.

I turned to the leaf jounin that was watching over us. “Hey dude, can I go chat with the Hyuuga quick? I’m going to go whether you say ‘yes’ or ‘no’, but I thought I’d give you a chance and at least let you know where I’m going.”

The man shrugged, so I took that as a yes.

“Thanks,” I chirped as I hurried down the stairs to where the medics were carrying the Hyuuga to the hospital. Behind me, I could hear the whole stadium cheering for Naruto. I caught up as they lay him in the hospital bed. “Hey, Hyuuga,” I called. I plopped down on the edge of the bed, not giving him a choice on whether to talk to me or not. “He kicked your ass.”

The Hyuuga merely sighed, then struggled to sit up. Rai offered him a hand but he ignored it.

“That was her, not me, just so you know.” I could feel Rai’s desire to help him feel better; she really didn’t want to see him in pain.

He looked up at me. “I thought you said-“

“Yeah, well, I lied. It’s something I’m good at. If it makes you feel better, she’s unhappy with me too.” I rubbed the back of my head, trying to push away the slight anxiety I was feeling. I wasn’t good with emotions. “I wanted you to realize what you would lose if you kept pushing her away. You’re very lucky she’s too stubborn to give up on you.” I stood up, ready to be done with this conversation. “But then, she’s waited this long…” I shrugged. “You better be able to get up and watch our fight. We’d both be disappointed if you didn’t.” I walked away, bumping in to the head of the Hyuuga house on my way out. “Excuse me. I was just leaving.”

I headed back up to the waiting room. _Sauske’s and Gaara’s match should be going on._ Except it wasn’t, it was Shikamaru and the sand girl, Temari. “What the fuck just happened?”

“Oh, Ran-chan,” Naruto spoke up. “Sasuke didn’t show up so they postponed the match instead of disqualifying him. Then Kankuro forfeited for some stupid reason.”

“So why is Shikamaru just lying down on the ground?”

“Oh, I pushed him and he fell.”

All I could do was sigh.

“These matches are seriously weird. Everyone is forfeiting, the people who are supposed to suck, don’t. Just hope at least my matches go according to plan,” I grumbled to the referee as I waited for the sound dude to get down here. “Of course, he seems to be taking his sweet ass time.” I looked at the referee. “Hey, what’s this guy’s name?”

You could almost see the sweat drop. “You’ve been planning this fight and seen the roster several times, and you still can’t remember your opponent’s name?”

I shrugged. “I never bothered to learn it. Do you know the name of every opponent you’ve ever fought?” He simply sighed. “I thought so.” I turned to see the white-haired sound ninja FINALLY show up. “About time you bothered to get your ass down here.”

“Not all of us like jumping down three stories. Some of us like stairs.”

“You’re the only one. Everyone else has just hopped over the railing.”

“Okay, you two,” the ref interrupted. “Let’s begin. Amarante vs. Tanaka Kohaku, begin!”

“Oh! Kohaku’s your name. Don’t be surprised if I don’t remember it in five minutes,” I blabbed as he started off throwing a few kunai at me. I disappeared from sight. Appearing behind him, employing the same tactic I had used during the prelims. “Now, why’d you throw them over there? I’ll just have to collect them later.” He threw an elbow, trying to catch me in the throat, but again, I wasn’t there. “Is it possible to use the same tactic over and over and still enjoy the results?” I asked the ref before disappearing again. I didn’t want him to be caught in the crossfire. He seemed like a nice guy.

“As long as the results keep working in your favor, I don’t see why not,” he called out after me as I disappeared in to the trees of the arena.

I heard a couple of ‘thoks’ as a few kunai implanted themselves in the trunk of the tree I was hiding in, about two meters below me. _Hey, can I bum that chakra scalpel that the Kohana douche taught you._

**_Let me know when!_ **

I waited until the sound nin decided to come looking for me, which took a few minutes. As soon as he appeared underneath my branch, I dropped down on his back. I tried to go for his throat with the chakra scalpel, but he blocked me with his wrist, so I sliced a few tendons there instead. I back flipped away from him, ending up in the middle of the clearing.

He appeared moments after me, clutching his bleeding, unusable hand to his chest. “You bitch,” he growled.

“Really? Can’t people come up with a name worse than bitch?” I asked, dodging as he threw a left hook at my jaw.

“Yes, but you’re not going to be around to hear them,” Kohaku threatened.

_I need your scalpel again!_ The blue light from Rai’s chakra lit up my hand again, but I never had a chance to use it.

An intense pain interrupted me, originating from my abdomen. I looked down to see that, like always, when we shared power back and forth, the seal had appeared. The shitty part of it was that it looked like Kohaku had just placed another seal on top of it. That meant-

I screamed as everything went black.

I had a pounding headache as I woke up. “Ran-san?” I asked quietly, wondering why I couldn’t feel her in my head.

“Welcome back, Rai-chan,” a voice I only recognized through Ran-san’s ears spoke.

“Kohaku-san?” I grumbled, pushing myself to my feet. I scrubbed a hand over my face. I could hear mumbling all around me, reminding me that I was in the arena of the Chuunin Exam Finals. “What’s going on?” I asked, not realizing right away that I should have ducked first.

A large fist pounded in to my jaw, knocking me to the ground. I coughed heavily and pushed myself up before getting kicked in the face. I was lucky it didn’t break my nose.

“Why aren’t you stopping my attacks? Why aren’t you blocking?” he asked before heaving me up to my feet. I could feel his breath across my face. “Can you see me, Rai-chan?”

I spat a wad of blood in his face.

He threw me off and I heard him gagging as he wiped the blood away. I pushed myself to my feet, using a quick healing jutsu to get my nose and a cut above my eyebrow to stop bleeding.

“Poor little Rai-chan. Poor **blind** Rai-chan.”

“Oh dear,” I grumbled. I couldn’t feel Ran-san and none of my attempts to contact her were getting any response. I took a deep breath and remembered how to fight.

I spread a layer of chakra thinly around me, hovering about waist height. “Thanks Ran-san, Kaemon-san, and Yasuo-san.” I waited for him to strike, making chakra blades on both hands.

He didn’t leave me disappointed. He attacked quickly, aiming a kick for my head. I used that chance to slice deep in to the femoral artery, or I would have if he hadn’t pulled up at the last moment. I did manage to slice a tendon though, making it harder for him to move. As he stumbled, I used a kick of my own to knock him back.

I lowered my chakra field to ground level. That’s when I noticed them. I smiled slightly to myself, thinking quickly on how to do this. I stepped backwards two steps, while moving slightly to the right. “Are you just going to stand there?” I asked, taunting him slightly.

He charged, aiming to knock me in to the ground but I side-stepped him, making him trip over the hole that Naruto had dug in the first round. I used the misstep to use the chakra scalpel again, slicing deep in to his good arm at the shoulder, slicing the major tendons that held the head of the humerus in place. Both of his arms were useless now, along with major damage to one of his legs.

“How can you keep fighting?” I asked, “You must be in so much pain.”

He didn’t bother to answer me. He launched another kick at my head and this time I hit the femoral artery. He collapsed then, bleeding out quickly.

Probably against my better judgment, I called out to the referee: “Call the match so I can help him!”

“Winner: Rai!”

With that said, I quickly pulled out gauze pads and bandage wrapping. He kept head-butting my shoulder, but I ignored him as I wrapped his leg as tightly as I could. Kohaku hissed as I pulled it even tighter. I felt the ref’s hands grab the sound boy’s hair, keeping him from head-butting me again.

“Knock it off and let her save your life. If she’d have let you bleed, you wouldn’t have made it until the medics arrived,” he muttered to the other genin.

“Can you lend me a finger?” I asked the ref. “I need to be able to tie this really tightly and his hands are useless.” I felt the male place his hand on the wrapping, holding it in place while I tied it as tight as I could. “Okay, it’s up to the medics to do the rest.” I stepped back from the sound boy, rubbing my jaw a bit. It was sore, but he hadn’t hit me hard enough to break it. The cuts on my face were closed up due to the healing jutsu I used earlier. I could have used the healing jutsu on him, but I’d have rather have wasted supplies instead of chakra on a creep like him.

“Foul! Cheater!” came a cry from the waiting room.

It was Kohaku’s teammate, Ito Amaya. I heard her land in the arena. “This girl isn’t Amarante; they must have switched places in the middle of the match.”

I sighed. “Ask Hokage-sama. Have him make the decision,” was the only answer I could give.

“Rai!”

I turned towards the man calling my name. “Kaemon-san, Yasuo-san,” I added when I realized both of them were there. “What are you doing down here? The crowd isn’t allowed in the ring.”

“They are when the Elder Council orders it.” I felt a cool hand on my stomach, right on top of my seal. “That bugger placed a new seal on you.”

“What?” I placed my own hand on top of my stomach, which was showing due to the short corset that Ran always wore. “Is that why I can’t feel her?”

“Yes,” Kaemon answered. “We have to go report this. Beat his teammate then come meet the council.”

“Yes, sir,” I answered, respecting the rank differences between genin and jounin.

I turned back in time to hear the Hokage announce that the matches would continue as planned, that they should treat me as if I was Amarante.

“Are we fighting now? Or are we waiting until the next round?” I asked, moving forward to meet the ref in the middle of the arena.

“You’ll fight now. Rai vs. Ito Amaya: Fight!”

Amaya didn’t waste any time. I heard the spinning of shuriken as the whizzed past my ears. There was no need to move when she wasn’t going to hit me.

“You are not very good at long distance fighting, are you?” I asked.

She scoffed as she threw another set of shuriken my way. Again I didn’t move. “I didn’t have to work very hard to beat that stupid-ass teammate of yours.”

“Did it look like he was trying to win?” I asked, honestly.

She stopped for half a second then renewed her efforts to try and hit me with her shuriken. Again and again, she missed.

I sighed before grabbing one of the shuriken out of the air before launching it back at her. It nailed her in the top of the thigh. “Sweetie,” I said softly, having picked up using pet names from Ran-san, “I’m blind and I can hit you. I think you need to give up.” There was no use hiding my blindness when my last opponent had blurted it out loud enough for the entire village to hear.

“Never!” She ripped the ninja tool out of her leg and threw it back at me.

I bent backwards a few mere inches to avoid having it hit my forehead. “Fine. Have it your way.” One symbol and I disappeared in a breeze of petals.

Unbeknownst to Amaya, I appeared in the tree right behind her. I reached backwards in to my hip pouch where Ran-san always carried something for me. I pulled out a thin cylinder of wood: my flute. I blew and out came a song that sounded very sad. It was called “Rainy Days” but it wasn’t long until the genjutsu became effective. I had to be very careful in who I targeted, making sure to latch on to Amaya’s chakra signature. I didn’t want to affect the referee or anyone in the audience.

Amaya managed to stay standing for a minute tops, before she collapsed on to her knees with her eyes glazed over. I appeared from the trees, still playing before I pulled a kunai, placing it to her throat. When the music died away, she came back but I moved the kunai the slightest bit to draw a miniscule amount of blood, letting her know that she should be dead.

“Winner: Rai!”

With that, I turned and walked away. I headed towards the stairs that would lead me up to where Kaemon and Yasuo were waiting for me. At least until I heard the whistle of another shuriken headed towards me. I snagged it and threw it back at where the girl was still kneeling on the ground. It lodged easily in her shoulder. “That could have been your head,” I said simply and I walked away.

“Rai-chan.”

I looked up at the sound of a voice I hadn’t heard in a very long time. “TenTen-san.” I opened my arms just in time to be engulfed in her hug. “I’ve missed you.”

“Do you know how hard it has been to know you were there and not go see you? Especially with what’s going on with Lee? Is there anything you can do to help him?” She pulled away but held on to my shoulders to be able to see my face.

I shook my head. “He needs much more than the emergency medical help I am currently able to provide. I did have Ran-san look in on him while he was sleeping though, every time we went to visit Hinata-chan.”

“Rai-chan!” I turned toward the new voice.

“Lee-san? Should you be up and about already?” I was engulfed in a one-armed hug before I could say anything else.

“Good matches, taking one on after the other, very youthful,” came another voice.

“Gai-sensei,” I greeted.

He ruffled my hair and all I could do was shake my head.

“Rai!” Yasuo called. He and Kaemon were standing at the top of the stairs waiting for me.

“I am sorry, but I must go.” I gave my teammates another hug. “Please say ‘hello’ to Neji-san for me. And let him know that I forgive him.” With that, I turned and walked away from one team to another. I had to see what the Elder Council would decide after the mess that was today’s matches.

We met them in the hospital wing where I was instructed to sit down so Mokuba could examine the new seal placed over the old one.

“Worthy of being a chuunin, Kohana-chan,” one of the elders said.

“Excuse me?” I didn’t understand what he was saying.

He cleared his throat. “Elder Sazuki and I have decided that you are worthy of being a chuunin of the Kusabana Hidden Village. We can start training you immediately after we fix this mess.”

“What does that mean with my living in Konoha?”

“We’ll speak of that later, but please, keep wearing the Kusabana headband.”

I nodded before wincing at the pain of Mokuba playing around with the new seal.

“Lie back please,” he asked.

I complied but was surprised when my wrists were immediately shackled to the bed. “What is going on?”

“This is going to hurt and I don’t want you to fight me.”

“It didn’t hurt the first time you released her. What is different this time?”

“The seal that was placed on you is in no way like the original. It was made with intent to harm and seal. The original was just made to seal.” With no preamble, his hand came smashing down in to my abdomen. I only remember pain and screams. My screams.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Author’s Note: I feel like I have to explain Rai’s ability to throw shuriken and be able to hit things. Rai has the ability to sense and track chakra signatures in a way that allows her to “see” where her target is. This gives her something to target when it comes to throwing. If it was a target as in a piece of wood for target practice, she would never be able to hit it.  
> Also, about Amaya making it to the finals; she is supposed to be very smart but not strong, kind of useless like Sakura in the beginning of the series. She made it through the forest due to the fact that her teammates were strong. She made it through the prelims due to the fact that Yasuo was ordered to lose, hence why she could be that weak and still make it to the finals.


	36. The Visitors

Yasuo and Kaemon couldn’t help but be worried at the sound of the screams that were coming from the room where they were holding Rai down to try and remove the seal that had sealed Amarante back up.

They had initially tried removing the seal about thirty minutes ago and Rai hadn’t stopped screaming. Kaemon and Yasuo had been called in to put more restraints on her. It seemed that in the time that Rai and Ran had been connected, their spirits were fusing and becoming one being with two minds. This meant Rai had access to Ran’s demon strength, even without having access to Ran herself. This meant more restraints to keep Rai from hurting herself by trying to escape the hurt she was going through.

But then there was the other issue of the fact that Konoha was under attack at the moment. Orochimaru was currently attacking Konoha with both Sand and Sound forces. Most of the hospital had been evacuated but they couldn’t move Rai, not without taking the bed with them and that just wasn’t feasible. So they had to wait for someone to be able to help, keep nothing from attacking her, and listen to her scream.

The two of them had been placed there with several other guards that had accompanied the two members of the Elder Council that had come to see Rai/Ran fight. The Elders had been taken to safety and half their guard had been left behind to watch over Rai.

Kaemon had heard rumors that Rai’s brother was involved with Orochimaru through a man named Yukushi. Ran had discovered him during the prelims going by the name Kabuto. He was the last name that had been associated with Towa before all signs of Towa disappeared. It was well known that Orochimaru was looking to discover a way of obtaining immortal life. Could he have figured out the secret of the Kohana blood and thought Towa had what it took? According to pictures found around Rai’s home, Towa had green eyes, which meant he ended up with almost no Kohana blood at all. Rai hadn’t known about the blue eyes before Mokuba told her so they hoped that meant Towa didn’t either. But if Orochimaru found out, would he start looking for Rai?

There was also the matter of the sound team that had placed this new seal on Rai. They had to have known how Ran’s and Rai’s relationship worked and figured out a way to get Ran out of the way. That meant someone had been watching them.

“Any change?”

Kaemon and Yasuo looked up at the sound of a voice they didn’t recognize. The ninja walking towards them was dressed entirely in black and had most of his face covered with only bright green eyes showing. A Konoha headband was wrapped around his forehead.

“Identify yourself,” Yasuo insisted. He had orders to not let anyone through the door in to Rai’s room without the Elder’s permission.

“Tamaki, Konoha jounin.” The male gestured to his headband. “Her sensei asked me to check up on the progress with her seal.”

“Which sensei? She has several.” Two of which were already in the room with her. The Kohana rep was working with his knowledge of seals to try and lessen her pain. The other, Hiroki who posed as their sensei during the exams had come as a guard for the Elders. He was posted inside the room.

“Maito Gai.”

Kaemon had no problems releasing the breath of flames he had been storing up at the ninja in front of him. He wasn’t surprised when the man dodged backwards. “Maito Gai has not been informed of his genin’s situation in several months. He has not been informed of the new development. Who are you, really?” he asked.

You could see the grin behind the cloth. The nin slowly pulled off the extra cloth, revealing dark brown hair and a familiar face. “I just wanted to come and check on my little sister. Is that so bad?” he asked, feigning innocence.

“What do you want with her?” Yasuo called out. He held a couple kunai in each hand, ready to throw at a moment’s notice.

Towa managed to put on a very disturbing smile, which made Kaemon think about all the times Ran had said that they needed to make mental health testing mandatory for ninjas. “I have a friend who is very interested in what she can do. I promised I would bring her to meet him.”

“Never.” Several seals and both of the Kusabana ninja released a flurry of bladed sakura petals. When the flurry died down, the man was gone other than a Konoha headband sitting on the floor in the middle of the hallway. “Stay here,” Kaemon ordered, “and keep an eye out for him.”

“Will do. I’ll cast a genjutsu on the entire hallway while you’re inside.” Yasuo started up the complicated set of seals for one of his favorite genjutsus. It would mask the hallway and not allow others to see him or the door to Rai’s room, but it would also give all who entered the hallway who were not welcome the idea that this wasn’t where they were supposed to be, that they were supposed to be somewhere else.

“Got it. I’ll knock before I come out.” Kaemon headed in to the room where Rai still lay screaming, though a gag had been placed in her mouth, muffling the sound some. Tears flooded down her cheeks. It was a wonder she hadn’t passed out yet. There was blood dripping from her mouth and the raven-haired nin looked towards Mokuba.

“She was trying to bite her tongue and I tried to stop her. She bit me instead. That’s why she’s gagged now, not because of the screaming.” He held up his hand, showing where it was bandaged.

“Any progress?”

“The only thing that I can discern was that someone did not want us removing it. See this marking?” He pointed out some new scribbles that had shown up in middle of the seal. “It’s reminiscent of a curse seal, something we Kohanas don’t deal much in. I want to call in a Hyuuga to try and get a better look at it. But they seem to be very busy.” He looked out the window on the other side of Rai’s bed.

A good chunk of Konoha was destroyed. Fires had burst out in multiple places but it was starting to look like it was coming to an end.

“Hopefully they can help. I know I don’t want to see her in pain. Also, we just had a visitor outside.”

“What?” Several voices rang in the room.

Kaemon nodded. “Her brother, Towa. He said that he had a friend that was interested in what she could do and that he was supposed to take her to him. We can only assume Orochimaru.”

“Bastard!” Mokuba hissed. “We knew that he would find out the Kohana secret at some point, but we were hoping to have some advanced notice at least.” He looked back at the screaming girl.

“Can’t you do anything for her?” he asked, placing a hand to her forehead. She was burning up and sweating.

Mokuba shook his head. “We tried. She has about one-hundred milligrams of morphine in her system. We also tried knocking her out with ketamine. She barely even blinked.” He rubbed his forehead like he was warding off a headache. “I need someone that works in curse seals.”

“Meaning, you need a Hyuuga,” Kaemon clarified, now understanding what he meant earlier.

The Kohana shrugged. “They’re the only ones available here in Konoha.”

There was a banging on the door all of a sudden. Kaemon immediately slipped out in the hallway, coming face to face with a familiar person. “Neji, what are you doing here?”

“Where is she?” he asked.

“Do you know where your uncle is?” the dark-haired jounin countered. “It is absolutely necessary that I find him.”

“What do you want with him?” Neji’s hands balled in to fists. “And where is Rai? I was told she came back.”

Their conversation was interrupted with an abrupt increase in the volume of the screams coming from the hospital room behind them.

“She got the gag out,” Kaemon clarified. He banged in to the room with Yasuo and the Hyuuga hot on his heels.

Mokuba had his hand shoved in the girl’s mouth, preventing her from biting her tongue. “I don’t know why she keeps trying. She would heal before she bled enough to even be a concern.”

“She’s looking for a way to divert the pain,” Yasuo answered, moving in from the door. “If she can concentrate on a different pain, then the other one wouldn’t be in the forefront of her mind.”

“No,” Neji interrupted. “She’s looking for something to bite down on. She doesn’t want to break her teeth.” Reaching into his ninja pouch, he pulled out a piece of a smooth, slightly squishy material, a several centimeters in length. “One time when Lee broke his leg, she made him bite down on something while she reset the bone so he didn’t break his teeth. Open her mouth.”

Between Mokuba and the Hyuuga, they managed to get the almost plastic piece between her teeth. Rai still screamed, but instead of trying to bite down on her tongue to save her teeth, she bit down on the material. Hopefully, this would save Mokuba’s hand. The guy had deep bite marks now on both hands.

“Why do you need to find my uncle?” Neji asked. He couldn’t seem to take his eyes away from the girl tied down on the bed.

Mokuba sighed as he cleaned the bite wound on his hand. “The sound kid in her first match placed a seal on her, locking Amarante away. When we tried to remove the new seal, this happened.” He gestured towards where Rai was pulling at her bonds and screaming through gritted teeth. “You would never guess she has morphine and ketamine in her system. And this happened.” He lifted the edge of the corset and revealed the rest of the seal on her stomach. It glowed a sick green color, reminding the Hyuuga of something he had grown up with.

“A curse seal.”

“Yes,” Mokuba nodded, “and I don’t know how to fix it. The Kohana’s are good with seals, but not curse seals. We only created the basis for them, never put them in to action.”

Neji stared for a second more. “I will find my uncle. He is the one that placed the seal on me.” With that, the young Hyuuga headed out of the room.

“You think he can do it?” Yasuo asked, leaning against the wall behind the door.

Kaemon shrugged. “He’s our only hope right now.”

Time passed sluggishly. The nin watched as the fighting died down outside and eventually came to a stop. It wasn’t long after the last jutsu was cast when there was banging again on the hospital room door.

Every guard in the room tensed up, both Kaemon and Yasuo pulling out kunai before they opened the door. Two Hyuugas rushed in, Neji and his uncle Hiashi. The two new males stopped at the side of the bed, the older Hyuuga immediately asking questions of the Kohana rep.

“How long has she been like this?”

“About six hours.”

“How did you activate it?”

“I tried the standard unsealing technique. We had no knowledge that it was a curse seal.”

“Do we know why she hasn’t passed out from the pain?”

“No. We gave her morphine and ketamine but it had no effect. Your nephew gave us the idea of the bite guard to protect her teeth. ”

“Why is she restrained so heavily?” Neji broke in, noticing that she was double cuffed on all extremities and another band across her ribs, holding her down. A single cuff each should have held down a full grown male ninja.

“She was thrashing with the pain, and since her spirit and Ran’s have been fusing during this whole process, she has access to Ran’s demon blood.”

The Hyuugas looked up sharply at Mokuba. “Demon blood?”

The Kohana had the decency to look embarrassed. “Things are not good for kunoichi in Kusabana. They tend to be bullied and harassed, the men forcing them to quit. Rai is the first female nin that they have even semi-approved of, enough so that she was made a chuunin after today’s fights. Ran didn’t have it so lucky. She was a hot tempered girl with an attitude to match. She was top of her class in taijutsu and could even take down some jounins when she was still a genin. But her first chuunin exam, she was passed over for the promotion in favor of another genin, a male, even though she had out-scored him in every category except genjutsu.” Mokuba looked past the Hyuugas at Hiroki, who was staring at the floor. “That evening after the results were posted, Ran went looking for something to make her stronger and more noticeable. She found a doctor named Yakushi, the father of Orichimaru’s right hand man. He helped her find a demon to make a contract with. By giving up her soul, she would gain massive strength and enhanced features to give her the edge she believed she needed. She became half demon; some even say immortal like the demon itself. It took a while for Kusabana to find out. She was a jounin by the time the truth was revealed. That’s when she had her spirit sealed inside Rai, who was barely even a few months old at the time.”

“So that time in the forest, when Sasuke had first woken up and he had changed. Ran had changed too. Her eyes were gold and let out this scream that sounded like a hawk,” Neji remembered. He took the cloth that was left on the bedside table and used it to remove the sweat from the girl’s brow.

Rai managed to peel her eyes open even with the pain at the gentle touch. “N-Neji-san,” she managed to gasp out between groans and cries. It was the first thing she had said since this ordeal had started.

“I will do my best to help her,” Hiashi promised.

Using a kunai, the older Hyuuga slit open a finger to begin drawing symbols on the girl’s abdomen, circling the glowing curse seal. Symbol after symbol was drawn, extending on to the bed around the seal. Rai seemed to understand something important was happening and seemed to be keeping as still as she could, given the circumstances.

Time was dragging again as they watched Hiashi work. Then, he started to perform hand seals; dozens of them. Then he slammed his palm in to Rai’s stomach.

Rai screamed her loudest yet as she bit down on the bite guard. Her hands balled in to fists and she pulled as hard as she could against the restraints, the guards hearing them creak and groan. Then, it was all over. She collapsed, gasping but quietly, as if any noise hurt her throat (which it probably did). Her eyes slowly opened and closed, but her slightless gaze stayed focused on the ceiling.

When Kaemon and Yasuo moved forward to look at her abdomen, they were pleased to the see the curse seal was gone.

Carefully, Neji and Mokuba pulled the bite guard out of her mouth and released the multitude of restraints, revealing that she had rubbed her arms and legs raw, despite the padding, and there would be some major bruising with how hard she pulled against them. There would also be some bruising from the band across her ribs.

I couldn’t help but just try and breath as the pain finally stopped. It had hurt so badly, as if I was being torn apart from the inside. The pain hadn’t even allowed me to escape into unconsciousness as I wanted to; something was forcing me to stay present.

_Ran-san?_ I called, hopeful.

**_Rai! Shit! What the fuck happened to us?_ **

I gave a faint smile. “She’s here,” I breathed. _You were sealed away, but they got you back._

I felt a gentle hand brush sweaty bangs away from my eyes. “Rai?” a familiar voice called.

I turned my head to the side slightly, so Neji would know that I heard him. “I’m so tired,” I breathed. My throat was killing me and my body felt like it had been pummeled over and over.

“Rest,” another voice said calmly. Kaemon.

I gave them a faint smile and closed my eyes again, drifting off almost immediately.

“Thank you for your help,” Mokuba said as he bowed deeply to the head of the Hyuuga clan. “The Kohana owe you a great debt.”

Hiashi nodded, not about to refuse a debt from a powerful clan. “We can discuss this debt another time. For now, let us let Kohana-chan rest.” He turned to his nephew. “Will you sit with her? Let me know when she wakes.”

The genin nodded, “Of course, Uncle.” He watched his uncle leave along with most of the guards. As he pulled up a chair to the bedside of his estranged teammate, he noticed only Kaemon and Yasuo were left.

“You’re looking well for someone who just got their ass kicked this morning,” Yasuo pointed out as he tossed a warm blanket over the sleeping nin. He sat down on the edge of the bed after, watching the younger male. “Naruto really pulled one over on you.”

Neji shook his head slightly as he turned his gaze back to Rai. “He taught me something I should have known long ago.” He gently brushed the hair out of her eyes, not surprised when she didn’t even twitch. “It makes me regret how I have treated some people.”

“Is Rai one of those people?” Kaemon asked, sliding down to sit on the floor on the wall behind Yasuo.

He nodded sadly. “Then when I saw her like that, I was worried that I was too late to apologize.” He turned back to the Kusabana nin as he remembered something. “There was something that Ran-san said. She had lied to me, saying that Rai was disappearing due to her influence. She said she told me that because she wanted me to realize what I would lose if I kept pushing Rai away. But then she added that Rai was too stubborn to give up on me and that she had waited this long. But she didn’t say what Rai was waiting for. Do you know?”

Yasuo raised an eyebrow before looking back at his partner. Kaemon simply looked unamused with the whole situation. “How old are you?” the blonde asked.

“Fifteen.” He didn’t understand what his age had to do with anything.

“And she’s fourteen. You both are too young to get involved in grown-up stuff.”

Neji narrowed his eyes at the pair. “Neither of you are much older than I am.”

Yasuo laughed. “You learn a lot more about that love shit in Kusabana, simply because of the fact that it doesn’t exist over there. No one gets married for love over there. It’s all arranged marriages and shit.” He shrugged. “I guess that’s why everyone talks about it over there.”

“You see it more in the older clans here too,” Neji commented, wondering when the topic had switched to love.

“Kaemon over there has been betrothed since he was your age,” Yasuo explained, ignoring the glare that his partner was giving him. “After this mission, he’s going back to get married.”

Kaemon sighed. “At least your family is not pushing you in to this,” he grumbled. “They believe the match would be good for raising the family status. But then, Kohanas are one of the top clans in Kusabana.”

“You’re marrying a Kohana?” Neji asked. Without realizing, he moved to grab Rai’s hand: a distinctly protective motion.

“Relax. Her name is Moriko. She’s Mokuba’s sister, actually. That’s how we convinced him to come out here to check on Rai.” Yasuo grinned at the Hyuuga. “You could always talk to your uncle. The Kohana clan could arrange a marriage between you and Rai in return for saving her.”

Neji opened his mouth to protest but nothing came out. Closing it and narrowing his eyes in thought, he stared at the girl on the bed next to him.

That’s when it clicked, everything Ran said, how the topic switched to love and marriage. Rai loved him. Even after everything he had done, had said to her, and put her through; she loved him.

“Hey Kaemon, I think he understands now,” Yasuo whispered loudly to his partner.

The dark-haired nin scoffed. “About time.”


	37. The Agreement

_Hey Ran-san? Do you have any idea what this meeting is about?_ I asked as I ran a comb through my hair. It was getting very long. The front of the cut now reached my collarbone while the back was only an inch or two above my shoulders. A drastic difference since I had left the academy when it was kept very short in the back.

**_No idea, kid. Maybe we’ll learn why they wanted you to stay out after all the fuss of getting me back._ **

_It’s also the fact that they wanted this meeting before Hokage-sama’s funeral._ I placed the comb down on the dresser, taking a deep breath. _Yasuo-san said that my brother showed up at the hospital, but he disappeared. He wanted to bring me to see someone._

**_I remember him mentioning that._ **

I sighed quietly before turning away from the dresser. I straightened out my black skirt and long-sleeve shirt. My Kusabana headband was tied around my neck and all of the bruises from my ordeal in the hospital were either faded or were hidden. The funeral was right after the meeting. There would be no time to change. Once I deemed myself appropriate, I headed out, making my way to the Hokage Tower.

Kaemon and Yasuo joined my walk about half-way there. They were quiet, unusual for the blonde.

We entered a room that was filled with a number of people, most of which had familiar chakras. There were a few of the higher ups in Konoha, probably the next in lines due to the loss of the Hokage. Two of the Elders were here along with several of their guards. Mokuba-san was standing with someone I didn’t recognize. But there were also Neji and his uncle standing with others I didn’t recognize. Hinata was there as well.

“Now that everyone is here, we can get started. Please take your seats,” one of the Elders invited. I believe his name was Saichi-sama.

A gentle hand took my elbow, guiding me to a seat.

“Thank you, Neji-san,” I said quietly as he took his place sitting down next to me. I felt his fingertips brush over the back of my hand in acknowledgment.

“For many years,” Saichi-sama began, “We have been wondering how to strengthen the bonds between Kusabana and Konoha. Being a day and a half away from each other would make it easy to take care of this bond, but until recently, differences have kept us apart. With the finding of the Kohana line here in Konoha, we have found a way to settle these differences between us. It has been brought forward by several people that an alliance through marriage would be the best way to start and we believe that we found a good match.” He paused for a moment to let the information sink in.

_Ran-san? Is he saying…?_ I couldn’t even think it.

**_Girlie, I have to say yes, he is._ **

“We propose a marriage between Rai of the Kohana clan, and Neji of the Hyuuga clan to solidify this alliance.”

I forgot how to breathe. _I’m only fourteen! Now they’re talking about marriage? They are deciding this for me?_

**_This is how Kusabana works. There are no such things as love matches there. Marriages are arranged in terms of power. At least you like the guy they chose for you. I hated my betrothed so much that I was happy when he died on a mission a few months before our wedding._ **

I felt a warm hand close over my cold one. “Breathe, Rai-chan. You’ve gone white,” Kaemon said softly.

I drew in a shuddering breath as I felt another hand rest on my shoulder from the other side of me. “Rai?” Neji asked quietly.

I closed my eyes and focused on breathing for a moment. “I’m okay,” I insisted, “It’s just a surprise.”

“Of course, they will not be married until they are of age,” Saichi-sama continued as if there was nothing going on in the front row. “But we hope that this will be the beginning of a long friendship between our two cities. Thank you everyone.”

**_I thought you loved the guy?_ **

I gave a sad sort of laugh that confused those who couldn’t hear Ran-san. _I do care for Neji-san very much, but I’m only fourteen. I should be celebrating the fact that I’ve become a chuunin, not the fact that I’m engaged to be married._ I shook my head.

Someone kneeled down in front of me. “Rai, I should have warned you about this,” Mokuba said quietly. “I knew they were thinking about it, I didn’t know they were going to go through with it.”

Pulling my hand from Kaemon’s, I clenched my hands tightly together. “I am pleased that it is someone that I know and that I am close to age with.” I turned to my newly-betrothed. “Neji-san, your birthday is some time before mine. Are you okay with waiting that long after you turn eighteen?”

The Hyuuga’s hand was warm on my back before he pulled it away to brush the hair out of my eyes. “I will gladly wait for you,” he affirmed quietly.

I gave him a soft smile before we were interrupted by the approach of the Elders. “Rai-san, Neji-san,” Saichi-sama started, “I believe that you two will make a fine pair.”

“Sir,” I asked at Ran-san’s insisting. “What would you like me to do? I know you requested me for this meeting but should I have Ran-san come back out?”

A hand landed on top of my head, mussing my hair slightly. “They already know about Ran,” he explained. “It would make no difference to us whether she is out or you are.”

I nodded, looking down in to my lap. “Does this change the way things are going to go? Them knowing about Ran-san?” I asked quietly.

“It means that Kaemon and Yasuo will be sticking around a bit longer.”

I sighed softly before turning towards where the two Kusabana nin were sitting on my left. “Are you two okay with having a chuunin as a third member of your team?”

“Chuunin is better than a genin,” Yasuo cracked up.

A warm hand landed on mine, Kaemon’s hand. “It is fine with us.”

“Rai,” Neji called. “It is time for the funeral.”

I nodded and pulled away from my new (official) teammates. “I will see you later,” I promised.

“We’ll have to see how you do in a fight,” Yasuo called as I walked away from them, meeting my newly betrothed at the door.

It poured buckets of rain while we stood in front of the line of caskets, the Hokage’s most prominent. I stood beside the Hyuuga family, partially due to the fact it would please the Elders and the higher-ups of the Konoha village, but mostly because I felt safer next to Neji-san. Kaemon and Yasuo had decided not to attend though they had promised they would be nearby in case something happened. But being with people who had some idea of what was going on (Hiashi-sama had been informed prior to agreeing to the betrothal) made it easier to relax.

The entire village now knew of my blindness, thanks to the sound nin who had screamed it at me during our fight. That meant Towa had told them of my blindness. But it made me wonder how they connected me with Ran-san. Had they been watching when I had insisted on turning back to me right before the first part of the Chuunin Exam?

It had to be.

Every time I had transformed in the woods we had done a sweep to make sure that no one was nearby before we started training.

I clenched my hands together tightly in anger at myself. How could I have been stupid enough to blow my cover like that!

**_You were emotional. It gets to the best of us. They insist that us nin have to have no emotions, but you really can’t take the emotions out of the human. You just learn to deal with them after the fight is done._ **

_But I blew everything because I couldn’t stand keeping a secret!_

**_There’s a difference between keeping a secret in general and keeping a secret from your teammates. Your teammates, you are supposed to be able to trust implicitly. Everyone else is another story._ **

I shook my head, not caring that it drew Neji-san’s attention. _I still don’t understand why they made me keep it a secret from them in the first place. They could have trusted them not to tell._

**_These are the Elders we’re talking about, not some group with actual hearts instead of robots._ **

_Does this mean we can blame me getting caught on the Elders?_

**_We definitely should. Your teammates would have found out at some point. I do tend to talk to you out loud at times, so we would have given ourselves away._ **

I relaxed the grip on my hands just as a warm arm wrapped around my shoulders. My head shot up. “Neji-san?” I whispered, not wanting to disturb those around us.

He pulled me in to his side, remaining quiet. His warmth was welcome in the cool rain, prompting me to not pull away. I relaxed, closing my eyes as I bowed my head again. We didn’t move for a while. Everyone was quiet apart from the sounds of tears as someone spoke about the Hokage.

It was nice, being able to stand amongst a clan and not by myself. Being the last Kohana in Konoha tended to be very lonely.

But still, the idea that I am engaged to be married and not even fifteen for another two months. I couldn’t help but sigh. _I wonder how Neji-san feels about all of this. This has to be shocking for him too._

**_You could always ask Kaemon how he felt, too. He was betrothed when he was fifteen. We should have a pow wow with the five of us._ **

_Five of us?_

**_You, me, Blind-boy, Kaemon, and Yasuo._ **

_Are you ever going to call him by his real name again?_

**_Not until he makes it up to me what he did to you! He’s going to have to try real hard._ **

_He just needs to give you chocolate cake with frosting and chocolate chips on top and you’ll be his best friend,_ I quipped.

**_That’ll work too._ **

I couldn’t help but smile slightly and shake my head again.

“What is she saying?” Neji-san asked, quiet enough so he wouldn’t disturb the other mourners.

I gave him a soft smile. “She’s still upset with you,” I answered.

“What do I have to do?”

“I’ll get you the recipe.”

**_Don’t give him the damn recipe! He needs to figure it out for himself!_ **

I winced at her scream. _I’ll let you eat the entire cake,_ I offered.

I heard her grumbling back there, **_Fine, but it better be a damn good fucking cake._**

_It will be._

The rain suddenly drizzled out to nothing, the heavens deciding that they had given us enough. I stepped out from under Neji-san’s arm, feeling pleased when his touch lingered. “I’d like to go pay my respects,” I told him quietly.

“I’ll go with you,” he responded.

I gave a short nod, feeling his hand grasp mine. We moved forward in to the line and stood quietly until it was our turn. Almost everyone had left and only a few stragglers remained by the time were able to make our way to the casket of the third Hokage. We both bowed and said our prayers.

**_Your geezer was nicer than my geezers._ **

_They believed that you had made yourself an enemy of the village by handing your soul over to a demon,_ I reminded her. _Did you want to say anything?_

**_Me? Hah! I barely even knew the guy._ **

_I thought I would offer._ I stood straight and moved away from the casket so someone else could take my place.

“Kohana-chan,” a deep voice called.

I looked up; focusing in the direction it came from. “Hyuuga-sama, please call me Rai. I will begin to look for Mokuba-san if you call me that.”

“Rai-chan then, I wanted to discuss with you your new living arrangements,” Hiashi explained.

“My living arrangements?” I repeated, confused.

I heard another set of footsteps come up from the casket. “Uncle?”

“Neji, we were discussing where Rai was going to live now that she will be taking the Hyuuga name.” He turned back to me. “Of course, you should move in to the Hyuuga compound. It would only be appropriate.”

I balked and I could hear Ran-san starting to get frustrated with the older man. “But, Hyuuga-sama, I don’t-“

“We’ve taken everything in to consideration. You would have a room next to Hinabi and Hinata until the ceremony, and then you would move in to your own home within the compound.”

I could feel myself paling at the thought. “Hyuuga-sama, I don’t think you understand how drastic of a change that is. It could take me months to learn the Hyuuga compound enough to be able to move around on my own.” I took a deep breath, pleased when they let me continue. “It would simply be a waste of everyone’s time if they had to help me learn.”

**_Let me out._ **

I was startled by Ran-san’s sudden intrusion. “What?” I asked out loud, confusing the two Hyuugas.

**_Let me out. I think I know what to do._ **

“Alright,” I agreed quietly. “Ran-san has something to say on this subject. I can still speak through her so you will not lose my say in the conversation.”

I closed my eyes and pulled back, allowing Ran to take over.

I shook my head, wobbling on my feet some. When I opened my eyes, I noticed the two Hyuugas staring at me. “It feels weird enough that I can’t imagine how it looks to watch us change back and forth. But, anyway, why the hell are you scaring the shit out of her?” I asked, bluntly towards the head of the Hyuuga household.

“It would only be appropriate to have her live in the Hyuuga compound. She is marrying a member of the clan.” He looked as if that this was the ultimate reason and that there should be no reason to go against that.

I glanced at Neji who stayed silent and simply shrugged at the idea. I rolled my eyes. “I hope you realize, that as of right now, Blind-boy isn’t only marrying her, he’s marrying me too. We come as a package deal.”

I held out my arm as I heard the usual ruffle of wings as Kohei realized that I was out instead of Rai. For some reason, he couldn’t figure out that the two of us were the same. Dumb demon bird. I let the bird sit on my shoulder as I crossed my arms as I glared up at the elder Hyuuga.

“Also, you’d be taking her out of the only place she feels even semi-comfortable, even if she can’t sleep in her own bed because of the trauma she experienced.” I raised my eyebrow at the males. “Don’t you get it? You’d be completely alienating her. She’d have to relearn literally everything. She’d have to learn how to get places from there. Her memory would have to be completely rewritten.”

“Why couldn’t you be the one walking around?” Neji asked.

I sighed. “Do you really want to deal with me on a day to day basis? My sentence has been lightened some with the restrictions taken off of Rai, but I kind of like the girl. I’m not going to steal her life away because I screwed up mine.” I kicked a random stone away, trying to figure out how to tell them the next part. “You weren’t there, when she had to watch you and your teammates walk away from her. You weren’t the one that had to remind her constantly that she wasn’t allowed to trust you guys.”

Both sets of Hyuuga eyes widened. “She can see us when she is on the inside?” Neji asked.

I nodded. “She can see, smell, hear, the whole shebang. She can feel my feelings and I can feel hers. She’s quiet right now but she can speak to me just like I can speak to her. Just she can choose to speak through my body while I can’t speak through hers.”

“Why can’t Rai take control of your body and live through yours? She can do everything while your mind is on the forefront, right?” the elder Hyuuga asked.

Rage flew through me, causing my eyes to flash then settle on gold. “You have no idea who the hell you just married your nephew off to, do you?” I didn’t give him a chance to answer and I could tell that this question upset Rai horribly too. “You have no fucking clue who she is!” I raised my voice, not caring that people were still around. “You think that she would take away that right from someone else when somebody took it from her?” I stepped closer to the males, pleased when they both took a step back in response.

I had to work to fight off Rai’s emotions. If she was on the outside, she would have been crying. **_Ran-san…_**

I sighed. “Go ahead, kid.”

**“Hyuuga-sama,”** she started, through my mouth. **“I know you don’t know me yet, but do you really think so little of me?”** Her voice wavered, making it obvious that she was extremely upset. **“Just because my brother took away my right to a normal life, doesn’t mean that I’m going to do it to someone else.”** I could feel her moving me some, like making me stand up straighter and my hands balled in to fists, just for a moment before she pulled back again, retreating from the confrontation.

“You know what?” I started, “Neither of you really know either of us!” I realized. “You think that I’m this horrible person that made decisions simply to get back at people! And you’d be completely shit-tastically wrong!” I yelled at the two males. “I made my decisions based off a shitty hand that I was given, being born a girl that could do amazing things. I could beat both of your asses at taijutsu and I know the Hyuuga specialize in it. But I had to make myself like this because nobody would even give me the fucking time of day simply because I had boobs and no dick.” I was beyond the point of caring that a few people had stopped to watch the exchange. “Neji probably knows something along the lines just because his father was born the second twin. Something that neither of us could control set us up as completely fucked for the rest of our lives. That’s why Neji pushed himself to master all of your abilities. That’s why I handed my soul to a demon. The same fucking thing happened to Rai. Her father was a bastard who beat the shit out of her on at least a weekly basis, sometimes daily. Her mother was weak-willed and wouldn’t stand up to him. Her brother is trying to hand her off to some nutcase. She had me implanted inside her and she had no fucking choice. You get it now? You get why she doesn’t want to take _my_ choices away?”

With that said, I turned and walked away, leaving the two of them to make their own fucking decisions.


	38. History is Revealed

“Come on!” I yelled, pushing my brown hair out of my eyes. “You promised to give me a work out!” I shook my head at the two Kusabana nin.

“What the hell… pissed you… off today?” Yasuo wheezed out as he struggled to sit up from where I had smashed him in to a nearby tree. Kaemon wasn’t fairing any better, though he had chosen to save some energy and just lay where he had collapsed.

I growled out loud. “The Hyuugas are full of idiots,” I answered, plopping down between the two boys. “The so-called ‘leader’ of the clan thought that Rai would actually choose to live by controlling my body instead of learning how to travel blind.”

“She wouldn’t,” Yasuo instantly reacted. He let himself just fall back in to the dirt, giving up on sitting up. “Rai’s not that kind of person.”

“I know that,” I grumbled. “But they don’t. They assumed that I was a horrible enough person that Rai would willingly take away my freedom.”

**“You know I wouldn’t do that,”** Rai spoke through me. My head turned towards the two boys and I could tell she wanted to see their reactions. **“Right?”**

“We know,” Yasuo encouraged. He closed his eyes and just lay there. Rai turned my head towards Kaemon, surprised to the find the older boy asleep.

“Okay, girlie. You can have it back,” I said out loud as my vision started to fade out.

I sighed as I ran my hands over my funeral clothes. “You managed to destroy them,” I told the woman in the back of my head.

**_Yeah, but you enjoyed it too._ **

_Yasuo just ran away from you the whole time. Kaemon at least tried to fight back._

**_Yasuo knows he would never stand a chance against me when I’m pissed off._ **

I rested my head against the tree behind me only for a second, until I heard footsteps moving towards us through the forest. I sent out a flash of chakra (I still had plenty. Ran-san had used almost none while beating up the other two). I was only slightly surprised when it was Neji-san’s chakra that was found. I knew somebody would come after me but I wasn’t sure who. “Come out, Neji-san,” I called, not bothering to move.

I heard him enter the clearing. “What happened?” he asked, referring to the two sleeping jounins in the clearing.

“You and your uncle made Ran-san very upset. She took it out on them.”

“I apologize for how he treated you, and I apologize for the fact that I should have stood up for you and I didn’t.”

I raised my eye brows. He had never apologized to me before, not in the almost three years since we had become teammates.

**_What the fuck?_ **

“I know, I’m just as shocked as you are,” I answered out loud.

Neji-san moved towards me, sliding down the tree to sit down next to me. “What did she say?”

“She’s shocked that you apologized. You’ve never apologized to either of us.” I turned my face away from him and down towards my lap. I remembered that he didn’t like to be stared at.

“I apologized for reporting you to the Hokage about your seal and blindness.”

I couldn’t help the almost desperate chuckle. “No you didn’t. You told me that it was for everyone else’s protection that you reported me. You wanted to make sure I was safe to be around. I ended up being the one to apologize for my behavior,” I retorted.

He fell silent for a few moments before sighing heavily. “I owe you a number of apologies,” he said quietly.

Ran started laughing which made me confused.

_What are you laughing at?_

**_The absurdity of that comment. Ask him how he’s going to make it up to you._ **

I was confused. “How are you going to make it up to me?” I asked, hoping that he would better understand the meaning behind it than I did.

**_It’s typically what someone would ask when they’re looking for make-up sex!_** She cracked up laughing again.

“Ran-san!” I gasped out loud, blushing vividly.

“What is going on in your head?” he asked.

“You don’t want to know. I don’t even want to know.” I dropped my head in to my hands, curling up my legs in to my body.

I was slightly surprised when I felt a gentle hand brush over the top of my head, almost petting my hair. I turned my head in his direction, pleased when he didn’t allow his hand to fall. “Neji-san?” I asked softly.

“I have a lot I need to make up for, don’t I?” he answered, just as quietly.

I didn’t respond. I closed my eyes and enjoyed the feeling of his touch. I opened them again when I felt his hand move to grasp my shoulder, pulling me towards him. He moved me so that I was using his shoulder as a pillow, his arms wrapped around me. I turned my head towards him in silent question.

He shrugged. “Might as well start making up for it now.” I felt him settle more in to the tree, relaxing.

“This makes an odd picture, I’m sure: cuddling in the middle of the woods with two unconscious jounin.”

He chuckled. “I’m sure.”

I couldn’t help but sigh heavily as I settled against him, closing my eyes. “So much has happened,” I murmured.

“It’s been about a year since Ran came. You’re becoming part demon. You’re a chuunin. We’re getting married,” he listed off.

“Lee-san will never be a ninja again,” I added.

“TenTen has been training every moment of the day since she was beaten by that sand girl.”

I smiled. “I think her and Ran-san would get along.”

“All of us should get to know Ran. She isn’t going away.”

**_Like you could get rid of me. I’d like to see you try!_ **

I chuckled. “She says you couldn’t get rid of her if you tried.”

“I’m going to have to get used to that, aren’t I?” he asked, referring to Ran’s voice in my head.

I nodded. “I am getting physically stronger, thanks to her. I have access to all of her memories and she has access to mine. You know that saying, ‘two heads are better than one’? I basically have that.”

He was quiet for a moment. “That stuff she said about your parents; is it true?”

I opened my eyes and pulled away from him, sitting up straight and facing him. I felt his warm hands take my cool ones as I tried to figure out how to talk about this. “Kusabana is not a kind village to live in. It tends to be horribly misogynistic and rather brutal in its ways. My father was in line to become the next Kohana elder until his youngest brother, more than twenty years younger, was born with darker blue eyes. The Kohana blood shows itself through the color of the eyes: the darker the blue, the thicker the blood. My father was outraged and packed up the family and moved to Konoha shortly after I was born. He hated my mother who was not Kohana, and blamed her for the fact that my brother, Towa’s eyes were green. Before I was blinded, my eyes were so dark blue they were almost black. I have been told that I have the thickest Kohana blood in a century. My father hated me for that and treated Towa like he had the Kohana blood and I was born with green eyes. I was about three years old when the beatings started. My mother didn’t even bother to try and protect me, but he had been beating her for years.

“He was raising Towa to be like him. He had Towa participate in the beatings of both me and my mother.” I took in a deep, shaky breath as I clutched at his hands. “When Towa killed them, he tried to kill me too. He poisoned them in their sleep and tried to do the same to me,” I told him in hushed tones as the memories rushed back. “I woke up and struggled, knocking the poison off its aim. It hit my eyes, rendering me completely blind within twenty-four hours. I was eight years old.” I stopped talking. It was the first time I had ever told the entire story to anyone and it had shaken me.

I almost cried out when he pulled his hands from mine, but when I felt his fingers gently wiping at my face I realized that I had started crying during my story. I closed my eyes tightly, clenching my hands in to fists as I tried to stop the tears. “I’m sorry,” I breathed, trying to pull away from him.

He wouldn’t let me. He gathered me up in his arms, my head resting over his heart and he just held me as I cried. Over a decade of pain built up rushed out, breaking the dam that had been holding it back. I clutched at his shirt, glad to have something solid to hold on to.

I don’t know how long we sat there but we moved from our curled-up position when the two other Kusabana nin started to wake, moving to sit beside each other instead.

Yasuo sat up and looked around, seemingly lost. Once he caught sight of the two of us and the fact that they were still in the clearing, he frowned. “You just left us on the ground?” he asked, seemingly shocked.

I raised an eyebrow at him, glad all traces of my tears were gone. “You’re too heavy.”

He gasped as if I had said something horribly offensive. “How dare you! Did you even try?”

“No.”

He pretended to faint, collapsing back on the ground. “Oh, the humanity!”

Awake but not having gotten up yet, Kaemon resolved to simply throw a nearby rock at his teammate. “You’re worse than Sakura,” he grumbled before he pushed himself to his feet. “Ran feeling better now?” he asked, remembering the reason he was asleep on the ground in the first place.

I nodded. “She’s calm now, especially now that Neji-san has apologized for his actions earlier.” I pushed myself to my feet as well, offering a hand to Neji-san to help him up. He refused it and stood on his own, but clasped it as soon as he was standing. “You know I am now strong enough to pull you up, right?”

I felt him shrug and I shook my head.

“You should take us to dinner because your alter ego beat us up,” Yasuo suddenly declared, jumping to his feet.

I shook my head but agreed. “Neji-san, will you join us?” I asked, hopeful.

“Of course. I would like to get to know your team better.”

I could hear Rai giggling like a loon in the back of my head as I cackled at Yasuo’s antics across the table. I elbowed Neji who had been hiding his eyes and shaking his head for the last fifteen minutes. “Rai says you never relax. It’s time to!” I gestured towards the bickering idiots across from us. “When do you ever get to hear an argument about such pressing topics?”

I finally got him to look at me and it was more exasperated than anything. “I don’t believe I ever needed to hear a debate about the pros and cons of using ninjutsus during sex.”

“That’s because you have no idea what you’re missing!” Yasuo interrupted. He pushed his blonde hair out of his eyes. The yellow-gold seemed to almost be burning with how much energy he was expending on such a conversation that had caused several patrons to ask to be seated away from us. “You’ve never had sex before, so how the hell would you know the wonder of being able to use a vine jutsu to tie up your partner while doing the nasty!”

The poor genin dropped his head in to his hands again, groaning. “I don’t know how Rai puts up with all of you,” he grumbled.

“Rai loves us!” I answered, really wishing we had managed to score some sake from the waitress, but she had called us out on being underage. “You should hear her right now. She’s giggling like crazy. But that could be that she’s just laughing at your reaction to the conversation. If she was out, she’d be doing the same thing you are just as red as a tomato.”

“Konoha doesn’t even teach its ninjas vine jutsu. We don’t have any families that specialize in earth energy.”

“Kusabana is mostly earth energy,” Kaemon cut in (probably relieved to change the subject), smiling slightly despite having contributed very little to the conversation. “My family has some fire techniques, but nowhere near where the Uchiha family was before their demise. Hopefully with your marriage as alliance, more techniques can be traded back and forth. The Elders were hoping to discuss it as soon as the new Hokage is put in place.” The eighteen-year old looked thoughtful as he turned his gaze around the restaurant. “I heard that they’ve already sent someone to go find the new Hokage.”

I scoffed. “You somehow manage to hear everything. I think it’s because you like getting lost in the shadows and spying on everyone. Yasuo agrees.”

The blonde nodded vigorously. “You’re like the epitome of super-spy ninja!” he stage-whispered.

Red eyes narrowed on his partner. “Do you even know what ‘epitome’ means?”

“No, I’ve heard Rai use it.” Yasuo grinned.

“You’re lucky it actually means what you’re trying to say. Kaemon would kick your ass otherwise.” I chugged back my drink, again wishing it was something stronger than a soda.

**_Would it be safer if I stopped talking to him?_** Rai asked.

“Probably,” I answered out loud. For some reason, she and I had been answering each other more and more out loud than through thoughts. If people didn’t know any better, we would have been locked in the loony bin with a diagnosis of psychosis faster than you can say _‘I have another person living in my head’_.

“If she’s saying that she needs to stop talking to me, ignore her,” Yasuo insisted, moving so his face was centimeters from mine. “I need our conversations!” he whined, making his eyes wide and trying to look innocent.

I couldn’t help it. I grinned then licked his nose, pleased with the disgusted reaction it gave me from him. “She needs to talk to you like she needs another hole in her head,” I told him, pleased with watching him rubbing at his nose with a napkin and repeating ‘ew, ew, ew’ over and over. “Oh, you’re fine, you big baby!” I said with a grin.

“Are you sure you are older than me?” Neji asked the three of us.

I grinned. “Technically, I was asleep for thirteen years. I was seventeen when they sealed me up. Then I’ve been back out for about a year. That would make me thirty-one, so yeah, I’m quite a bit older than you. But I don’t want to count the years I was sleeping so I’ll say that I’m Kaemon’s age: eighteen.”

“It’s boring to act grown up all of the time,” Yasuo whined, dropping his head down on to the table.

“It gets you more respect,” Neji counted.

“And no friends,” I added, smiling when he glared at me. “Seriously! Everyone just wanted to beat you up because you were a total ass. Now that Naruto put the smack down on you, you’ve been a nicer person. I know Rai’s excited about it.” I grinned at the sound of her protests in the back of my head but she did nothing else to stop me. “She likes you ten times more now that you aren’t insulting her anymore. I mean, I don’t understand how she liked you in the first place. From her memories, you were a total ass to her. But, on the other side, you reminded her of someone that she had always tried to garner respect from, so she probably, unconsciously, replaced him with you and substituted those emotions.” I could feel her practically face palm.

“And why didn’t you go in to counseling, Ran?” Kaemon mused, slightly impressed with the psychological profile of the younger female.

I shrugged. “Only crazy can judge crazy,” I stated. “How do you think I knew the stupid sound kid, the one who acted like a spider, was crazy?”

**_So you’re saying I’m crazy?_ **

“We all are, girlie. Haven’t you noticed?”

Kaemon rolled his eyes and Yasuo grinned as Neji just grumbled in to his hands.

She didn’t even bother responding.


	39. Decisions

“Rai-chan! It has been so long since you have trained with us! Please, introduce us to those you have brought with you,” my old sensei, Gai greeted.

I nodded, brushing black hair out of my face as it was now long enough that I could pull it back if I wanted.

**_Hip pack._ **

“Thank you,” I mumbled before reaching for one of the hair ties that Ran always kept on hand. “Well, these are my new teammates, Seishou Kaemon and Ookawa Yasuo. Until it can be worked out with the new Hokage, I have been permanently signed on to their team as a Kusabana ninja.”

“Does that mean you are not coming back to us, Rai-chan?” Lee asked. He had been allowed to leave the hospital for short periods after promising that he would take it easy as he mended.

Yasuo clapped a hand down on my head, messing up the ponytail I had just fixed. He ignored me as I grumbled at him. “Rai is currently under the protection of her original village. It is up to the Elder Council as to what happens until she turns eighteen as she is technically a ward of the village due to her orphan status.”

“What happens when she turns eighteen?” TenTen asked. It sounded like Neji-san hadn’t broken the news to the team yet.

_Should we tell them?_

**_Why not? It’s going to be everywhere soon enough._ **

“She will be under the protection of my family,” Neji-san interjected from beside Gai.

“Why your family?” Lee asked.

“It is part of the treaty between Kusabana and Konoha. There will be an alliance through marriage and a trading of ninja to learn new techniques and knowledge,” Kaemon explained.

TenTen sounded shocked. “Marriage? You and Rai are getting married? Since when?” I could hear my former female teammate stomp up to where Neji-san was leaning against a training post.

“It was formalized the day of the Hokage’s funeral,” he answered. “It was agreed upon because my uncle helped out the Kohana family and it was decided that they owed us for it.” He sighed softly. “Now I get stuck with two wives, one of which is totally crazy.”

**_What the fuck! Tell him both of us are crazy and that being crazy makes me fun in bed. Besides, isn’t it every guy’s dream to be able to go to bed with multiple women?_ **

I turned cherry red at her comments. “Ran-san,” I groaned, burying my face in my hands.

“Two wives? I thought bigamy was illegal in Konoha,” Lee commented.

I sighed and pulled away from my hands as the blush died down. “It is, Lee-san. This is another reason that I wanted to come see you today. The girl that you met, Ran-san? She didn’t go away. She’s still here. And Neji-san, she’s not very thrilled with that last comment.”

**_Let me out!_ **

_Not yet._ I sighed again. “It was suggested to me that I should start having people get to know Ran-san because she is not leaving. I will most likely be with her for the rest of my life.”

“Where is this Ran-san?” Gai asked.

I pointed to my stomach; the seal revealed by the short corset that Ran insisted I wear today because of her coming out. “She was sealed in to me before my family left Kusabana. She is awake and we currently share a body. Whoever’s personality is at the forefront, my body changes to their form. So, since I am at the forefront, you see me. When I let Ran-san out, you will see her.” I took a deep breath. “Are you ready, Ran-san?” I asked out loud.

**_Hurry up!_ **

I closed my eyes and allowed Ran to take the forefront.

I opened my eyes, the irises already gold as I glared at the future husband of my other half. “What the fuck? I thought we dealt with all of this ‘crazy’ shit already?”

Neji rolled his eyes. “You made it decidedly worse when you made me listen to that conversation last week,” he clarified.

I flipped him off, turning my attention to his teammates, eyes turning back to brown. “Good morning, everyone. I’m Ran. I live in Rai’s head and I get to come out to play whenever she’s nice enough to let me.”

“How old are you?” the brunette asked. This was TenTen.

“My actual age or how old I say I am?” I smirked at her.

“Both.”

“I’m thirty-one, but I was asleep in Rai’s seal for thirteen years so I tell everyone I’m eighteen.

“Why were you sealed up?” the kid with the bowl-cut asked. I remembered him from the chuunin exams when the sand dude put him in the hospital. It had been well over a month and the kid was still using crutches.

“Well, Lee, you see, I turned my soul over to a demon in exchange for power and the Elder Council deemed that to be unsafe for the village and called me a traitor. In exchange for making myself powerful enough to be noticed in the village, they ripped my spirit out and put me in Rai.”

“Were you a danger to your village?” Gai asked. I could see his posture change slightly. He had changed in to a protective mode. He had stood a little taller and had moved slightly so that if he had to step in front of his genin, he could.

I raised an eyebrow at him. “Seriously? If I was a threat, they would have sealed me back up and found someone else to protect Rai. No, I was pissed off because they treated me differently because I was a girl. Kusabana treats their kunoichi like shit. I wanted to make it so that they couldn’t ignore my talents anymore and give me the respect that I deserved.”

“What are you so talented at?” TenTen asked. She had moved next to where Lee was sitting, being as protective as her sensei was.

I rolled my eyes. “I could beat jounin in taijutsu when I was still a genin.” I grinned at the Konoha nin. “I can take on these two and barely break a sweat. I was pissed off the other day and took it out on them. I used almost zero chakra to beat both of them. They’re both in their peak shape. Rai’s body is not. In the past year that I’ve had it, I’ve been working on her strength and conditioning. She told me she could run circles around you guys speed-wise when she first began training with you. And I know it’s true, I saw the memories. She’s more than doubled her speed and she’s now stronger than that sensei of yours.”

“Stronger than Gai-sensei?” Lee made this sound like it was the most impossible thing in the world.

I nodded. “Physically stronger, yes.” I turned to that Hyuuga that pissed me off moments ago. “She wasn’t lying when she said she could pick you up off of the ground.” I shrugged though. “I’m guessing that when our spirits fully merge, she will have access to all of my strength. But I’m not sure. I’m half demon, and she’ll only be a quarter demon.”

“Why didn’t you make a deal to become fully demon?” TenTen asked, now more relaxed but still hovering near her injured teammate.

I gave her a look that said I couldn’t believe she had just asked me that. “Have you ever dealt with a full demon? I’m sure that you remember the Tailed Demons or at least remember stories of them. The demon I made my deal with wasn’t as powerful as them, but he was pretty damn close. But he also liked humans and respected my decision. If you ever get to meet my demon, he’s not very into eating humans, so you don’t have to worry.”

“A demon that likes humans?” Neji asked. “That goes against everything we’ve ever been taught about demons.”

“Yeah, well, stories of the Kyuubi and his brethren kind of eclipsed the stories of Yakuza and his friends.” I shrugged.

“Yakuza? Your demon friend is named Yakuza?” TenTen asked.

I nodded. “Where do you think the yakuza gangs got their name? He can be ruthless if you piss him off.” I crossed my arms, not surprised when Kohei finally came out of the woods, realizing that it was me and not Rai. He settled down on my shoulder. “This hawk is one of his friends actually. His name is Kohei and he is a hawk demon, which is what I am too.”

Neji’s eyes narrowed. “Don’t you have another form? We saw the beginnings of it during the second part of the exam.”

I nodded again, remembering. “It takes a lot of energy to transform. Do you really want to see it?”

“Yes, please!” Lee insisted, TenTen nodding beside him.

I glanced at my teammates. “You’re not under orders to tranquilize me if I transform, right?”

“Nothing works on you when your demon blood is active,” Kaemon answered. “We’re guessing that’s why nothing worked on Rai when you were sealed up and Mokuba was trying to undo everything.”

“Okay. I’ll do it.” I sent Kohei to go sit on the post over Neji’s head, and then I closed my eyes and released my hold on my demon half.

My eyes turned gold and the skin around them darkened like the sand boy’s. My canines lengthened along with my nails as they curled in to talons. A tattoo-like marking of wings appeared on my back, darkening and becoming more realistic before real wings burst from my skin, causing me to hunch over, crying out that hawk scream that had rang through the Forest of Death.

The transformation ended and I was able to stand up straight, folding the dark brown and tan wings against my back though they still swept the ground. I gave the team across from me a fanged grin which caused the other female to flinch.

“Doesn’t that hurt?” she asked.

I shrugged, ruffling my wings slightly. “It did the first couple times, but now that I’m used to it, it’s become more of an inconvenience or something like that.”

“Can you fly?” Lee asked, almost bouncing in his seat.

I pursed my lips, thinking. “Kind of?” I shrugged. “I’m not light enough to fly. I was born human. I ended up lighter after the transformation but it’s still not enough. A normal ninja my size would be about forty-six kilos. I’m only about thirty, thirty-two kilos. That’s still too heavy to fly. I can do some short distance stuff, some gliding. I also push a gust of wind hard enough to blow everything away, like that Temari girl with your weapons during the pre-final round fight. My feathers are also reinforced.” I brought one wing in front of me, plucking out a loose feather. I held it up and bent it as far as it could go, knowing it wouldn’t break, barely even getting an arch out of the shaft. “It doesn’t bend, which is probably behind some of the reasoning of why I can’t fly. My feathers are too stiff. But this allows me to actually use my wings as shielding from attacks.” I shrugged.

“If you’re so formidable, why were you caught and your spirit ripped out?” Gai asked.

I sighed. “Because contrary to popular belief, I am loyal to my village and the Elder Council despite how much I complain about them. They interrupted a training session and told me I was being arrested for high treason against the village. I just let them take me. Either way, I was going to look guilty. I thought if I was going to be taken in and I went willingly, they would give me a chance to explain. The next thing I knew, I was shackled in a tiny cell with a seal drawn on my chest and being told that my punishment would be to be sealed away. I thought they were going to seal me in to myself, never another person. Never in my wildest dreams did I think they were going to seal me in to a three-month old baby.” I shuddered as the thought ran through my mind. “Makes me glad I’m only half demon. A full demon, like they did with every single tailed demon, can cause a lot more damage to their container as their energy and chakra changes it. Mine is only keeping Rai small and turning her quarter demon. She won’t be able to transform, but she will have the strength, speed, plus some increased energy reserves.”

“Why were you released again, anyway?” Lee asked, leaning forward on his crutches.

I scratched at my head before tightening my ponytail. “It’s technically classified. Anyone who knows is in danger, so I hope you don’t mind if I don’t tell you because Rai cares about you guys and she’d like to keep you around.”

“Does Neji know?” TenTen asked, again being overly protective of her team.

I sighed. “Not on purpose. He got dragged in to it. I know that Rai does not want to keep any of you out of the loop, but there is the chance that you guys could end up killed. She was beyond pissed when she wasn’t even allowed to tell you guys good-bye before I was released. Trust me, I had to deal with the aftermath.” I gestured towards to my two teammates. “I’m sure they can agree with me. She was not the same for months.”

The younger team shared glances before turning their gazes to their sensei. The male looked over his students then at us. “I’m sure that we can form a great youthful partnership!” He held out his hand to me, not even balking at the talons as I shook his hand.

“Looking forward to it.”

**_Why didn’t you want to just use me to cook? Sometimes having sight is a good thing, you know?_ **

“You just dislike losing your strongest sense,” I snipped back, mixing in the last cup of sugar in to Ran’s favorite dessert. “It’s a recipe I know by weight and texture. I’m not sure it is one I could complete with having your sight.”

**_Do you know why that is?_ **

I shrugged, feeling for the pan to make sure it was under the bowl as I tipped the cake mix in. “I learned it from my mother only a few short days before I lost my sight. The only times I have ever made it was with having no sight.” I ran a spatula around the inside of the bowl, scooping out quite a bit of mix considering the weight. “It is a huge adjustment, having access to sight again. I remember more without it than with it. If I did not have you to move around with sight and a teleporting jutsu, I’m not sure I would have ever figured out how to move around the city again.”

“Rai-chan, you do need to give yourself more credit,” a quiet female voice sounded, surprising me.

I moved my head to face her, “Hinata-chan? Is it that time already?”

She gave a soft giggle. “I’m sorry for startling you. I assumed you had heard the bell when we came in,” she stated, referring to her cousin who I could now sense behind her.

I shook my head, turning back to the task of spreading the mix in the pan. “I was so intent on my conversation with Ran-san, I never heard it. But please, make yourselves at home. Can I get you something to drink? I made sweet tea,” I offered.

“Please,” both Hyuuga answered.

I finished with the mix and shoved the pan in the oven. I did not bother with the timer, not that I could ever set it properly. I would know when I smelled it. I poured three glasses of sweet tea and placed them in front of my betrothed and his cousin and sat down with my own glass. “You stated that were some questions we needed to find answers to when we spoke earlier?”

“Yes,” Neji-san responded. I heard him place his glass back down on the table. “My uncle is still insistent on moving you in to the Hyuuga compound. But it has also come to our attention that you are alone here. With everything that is going on, especially with the discovery that Ran and you are the same person, we are worried about your safety.”

I sighed and ran a hand through my hair, a habit I had picked up from Ran-san. “It is not like someone can sneak in to my bedroom at night and grab me. I wouldn’t be there. This half of the house has bells on every entrance. As long as I am not distracted, I do not see how someone could sneak up on me.”

“What do you mean, Rai-chan?” Hinata asked. “Don’t you sleep in your bed?”

I turned my blind gaze away to the table. “No,” I answered quietly. “I haven’t since I lost my sight. Ran-san has.”

**_Maybe it would be a good thing to move you out of here, to at least get you away from the memories. I know that you try and hide the nightmares from me. Between you and I, and I’m sure Neji and Hinata will help, you’ll learn the pathways in no time at all._ **

“Why would it make a difference?” I asked her out loud. “The memories will follow where ever I go.”

“It sounds like even Ran is on our side.” A warm hand settled over both of mine and I could help but grip it tightly. He returned that squeeze. “What is going on in your mind?” he asked after a minute or so of silence.

I let go of his hand to drop my head into my hands. “I just do not understand why it matters. I am not a pushover. I am strong in my own right. I do not need Ran-san, or Yasuo-san, or Kaemon-san, or anyone for that matter to protect me!” I said harshly before pushing myself away from the table to stand by the sink, turning my back on the two Hyuuga.

“Rai-chan,” Hinata spoke up. “We want to protect you.”

I do understand what the normal response to this should be. I should accept their help. I should be grateful that I have amazing friends that are willing to put their lives on the line to keep me safe. But this was not the response that I was having. I was angry.

**_It’s because everyone that was supposed to care for you and that you were supposed to trust failed to protect you. They became the people you had to be protected from and no one was there to do that._ **

“I do not need your psychoanalyst thoughts right now!” I snapped. I wanted to be upset. I heard both Neji-san and Hinata stand up behind me, but neither moved closer.

**_Hey! Don’t you dare lash at out me! I’m the one that has been there for you through all of this shit. I understand where you are coming from. You have never had to rely on anyone before you had me. Maybe TenTen some, but this is not the same. Let them help you._ **

I sniffed, realizing that I was crying as I gripped the edges of the sink. “How do I know that you are not going to turn out like them?” I asked quietly, talking to both the Hyuuga and the woman in my head.

**_Have I ever given you a reason to doubt me?_ **

“You just keep damaging poor Neji-san’s psyche.” I laughed shortly before wiping at my eyes, turning back to the two people in my kitchen. I felt a pair of arms wrap around my shoulders. “Hinata-chan?” I asked.

“We want to protect you,” she repeated. “You are not alone anymore. You might be marrying my cousin, but I do think of you and Ran-san as sisters,” she said quietly, her voice muffled by my shoulder. “The two of you saved my life. May we help save yours?” she asked before she pulled back to look me in the face.

I couldn’t help but crumple under the emotional weight. I dissolved in to tears again as my knees buckled. I felt a new set of arms wrap around my waist as Neji-san caught me before I hit the floor. Between him and Hinata, I was lowered gently to the floor. My betrothed held me tightly as I fell apart. I could feel the girl’s hand brushing over my hair, comforting me both with touch and the calming words she kept speaking.

“We won’t leave you alone ever again.” She kept repeating it over and over, as if hearing it enough times would make me believe it.

I clutched at Neji-san’s shirt as I broke apart. Everything that I understood about how the world worked was being turned upside down. Family was supposed to protect each other, not tear each other apart like my family had. My new family was not blood but they had already done so much more than anyone else ever had.

Ran, Yasuo, Kaemon, Neji, Hinata, even Mokuba: they were my new family. One bound by faith in each other and the desire to protect instead of hate and blood.

**_Can you trust us to keep you safe?_ **

I was quiet for a moment as my tears finally started to subside. I could not seem to force my hands to let go of Neji-san though. “Okay. Yes,” I breathed. “I’ll move.”


	40. A First

**_Shit!_ **

I wasn’t able to catch myself as I fell down the short set of stairs. “I forgot those were there.” I brushed off my hands as I heard hurried footsteps.

“Rai!” a familiar voice called.

“Yasuo-san?” I asked as a hand hooked under my arm and heaved me to my feet.

“Are you okay? It looked like you landed hard.”

I nodded, brushing off the cloth that covered my hips. Ran had insisted that I wear her clothing today. “I was looking for Neji-san but I forgot that the porch goes down three steps there.”

“Why aren’t you using your chakra to feel it out?” Kaemon asked.

I ran a hand through my hair before pulling a hair tie off of my wrist to tie it up. “I’ve been living here in the compound for two weeks already. I should be able to navigate the areas I know already but it seems to change every time I try to leave. Now, what are you two doing here?”

“The Hokage has sent us out for a mission. We need to report to her immediately.”

My eyebrows furrowed. “Tsunade-sama? Let’s go.”

“You might want to let Ran out.”

**_Shit._ **

I looked over the new Hokage. I have only met her once since she had been sent to replace Saritobi. She didn’t seem to like me much, but then I was a Kusabana nin that had been left in her care by default. “So, wait. What happened?”

“As I just said, Uchiha Sasuke defected from the village last night. I sent Nara Shikamaru, Akimichi Chouji, Hyuuga Neji, Inuzuka Kiba, and Uzumaki Naruto to retrieve him. It has been too long since I have heard from them and you are the only team I have at my disposal. You need to follow them and retrieve them. Is Rai ready to heal, if necessary?”

**“Yes, Hokage-sama.”** I could feel her already starting to worry. Now that she had accepted us as her new family, she was worrying constantly. Knowing Neji hadn’t been heard from was terrifying her. It was made even worse that he hadn’t said anything prior to leaving the city.

“Go now. You have no time to lose. They went west from the gates. Dismissed.”

We flew through the village. Buildings and people were a blur as we passed through the gates and in to the forest. Their trail was easy enough to pick up for us. My eyes turned gold as I let the power flow through me to enhance my senses. Kohei flew ahead of us, keeping an eye out as well.

We had traveled several kilometers when we had found Chouji. He was unconscious at the base of a tree. Another body that was not of Konoha was on the other side of the clearing. We dropped to the forest floor immediately, quickly assessing the situation. Kaemon and Yasuo scouted while Rai took over, dropping to our knees to assess him.

**“Breathing is elevated, about twenty-five respirations a minute. Pulse is elevated, about 120 beats per minute. But other than some scrapes, there isn’t much that I can take care of.”** My head turned back to my teammates. **“Can one of you take him back to the village and retrieve a transport team. If Chouji-san is like this, I’m sure it is going to be worse as we move on.”**

“I’ll take him. My Joukei will give me an edge.” Yasuo easily scooped up the large teen and hurried out of the clearing.

“Let’s go,” I called to Kaemon who took off after me. This was becoming a mission where time was of the essence. Rai couldn’t tell what was causing Chouji’s pain. There was something else going on that her emergency medicine wouldn’t be able to fix. She was just trained to patch them up well enough to get them to a hospital and survive the trip.

It was another couple of kilometers before we came across the next person down. **“Neji!”** For once in her life, she dropped the -san she always put after his name. Too bad it was because of the condition we found him in.

The poor kid looked like he had put in to an Iron Maiden. He had literal holes through his body in both his abdomen and his upper chest.

“Keep going!” I called to Kaemon. “She’s not going to leave him. Take Kohei with you as an extra pair of eyes.”

Other than making sure the other body in the clearing wasn’t one of ours, she ignored anything else, focusing our attention on the unconscious Hyuuga. She pressed glowing green hands to his chest, hoping to slow the bleeding down. The ground beneath him was already red. When she felt that she did as much as she could, using gauze and rolled bandages she packed the wounds as well as she could.

_This is bad. We need to get him back._ I carefully pulled him on to my back, using a rope to tie his wrists together to keep him from both struggling if he woke up and to keep him from slipping off. Once he was situated, I took off pushing as much power through my legs as possible. Demon enhanced senses kept the world open as we raced through the forest. Damn if I would let my other half’s love die on me.

I crashed through the door to the hospital, finding Yasuo there as well.

“The Hokage warned the hospital staff of the possibility of this,” he stated as he moved to help place Neji on a stretcher. “Oh shit. What the hell got a hold of him?”

“We didn’t stop to look at the other guy other than to make sure he wasn’t one of ours. He was already dead,” I answered. I turned to the nurses. “Please let me know if I can help. I am a medic nin,” I offered as a nurse came to grab his stretcher.

“Staying here will help,” was the only thing she said as she took the Hyuuga away.

I was pacing back and forth in the waiting room several hours later, Rai’s anxiety getting to me, when Kaemon walked in followed by some familiar faces. The Sand Siblings were here… Why?

“Why are you here?” I asked, trying to keep the suspicion out of my voice, though I don’t think I did well. Scratch that, I know I didn’t do well at all according the looks I just received.

“They helped retrieve Shikamaru, Kiba, and Lee,” Kaemon answered. “They are here to help.”

I shook my head. “I’m sorry. Her anxiety is getting to me real bad.”

Yasuo and Kaemon both raised an eyebrow at the apology. It’s not something I’m known for doing.

“Does she want to come back out?” Yasuo asked, referring to Rai.

**“No. I want to see him,”** she answered before returning to pacing.

“Who?” the sand female asked, confused. Temari was her name.

“Her betrothed is one of the team that was hurt badly,” Kaemon explained. “She patched him up as well as she could before Ran raced him back here.” His voice dropped in volume. “It doesn’t look good.”

Two unknown hands grabbed my shoulders and halted my pacing, turning me to look into blue eyes. “Okay, your pacing is starting to unnerve me. Knock it off,” Temari said, holding on to my shoulders so I couldn’t start again. “Can I talk to her, the other girl? I want to be able to see her face.”

I sighed. “Rai? We can always switch as soon as we can go see him. Can you talk to her?”

My vision fading out was my answer.

As soon as I was in control, tears started filling my eyes. “You wanted to speak to me?” I asked quietly.

My jaw was grabbed and forced upwards somewhat. I could feel a slight breeze from Temari’s breathing, making me assume that she was making me look at her. “They are going to do whatever they can to help him. There is nothing that you can do right now. You need to accept that right now, got it?” she asked forcefully.

“You do remember that I cannot see you, correct?”

She paused for a second, making me think that she didn’t remember. “I was making sure I could see your eyes.”

“They do not work, so I do not see why.”

She scoffed, letting me go. “Shut up. I’m not used to dealing with blind people.” She grabbed my arm roughly and pulled me to sit in an uncomfortable chair. “Now don’t move from there.”

I furrowed my eyebrows then went to stand up again before Kaemon spoke up. “Rai, she’s trying to take care of you. She could be a little nicer about it, but she is trying.”

“Yeah, Temari, you could be nicer to the girl,” the older sand male stated. I think his name was Kankuro.

The third sibling didn’t say anything but I could hear him moving. He stopped nearby and leaned against the wall after depositing that giant gourd that he keeps full of sand on the floor.

I sighed and dropped my head in to my hands, the tears finally escaping. My head shot up a second later when the door to the waiting room opened. It wasn’t a Hyuuga. “Shikamaru-kun?” I asked, making sure.

“Rai,” he answered. I heard him settle down in to a chair on the other side of the room.

It was quiet for a few minutes before Temari spoke up again. “Okay you two. There is no use in fidgeting. Sacrifices have to be made sometimes. Haven’t you been through emotion training?”

“Emotions are part of being human. They are what allow us to form bonds of loyalty to our village and our teammates. It is what leads us to the choices we make. It is what made Sasuke-kun decide to leave the village, but it is also what allowed Neji-san and Shikamaru-kun to go running after him. You can send us to training after training. Compartmentalizing and shutting down temporarily to deal with them later can happen, yes. But you are not going to get rid of your emotions.” I turned my head to look in her direction. “You have them as well. It’s possible to not have the full spectrum of emotions, but you have them.”

“No, she is right,” Shikamaru said as he stood up, referring to Temari. “Today was my first mission. I wasn’t strong enough to lead. I was laid back and just trusted everyone. Now I know that I am not cut out to be a shinobi.” With that, he walked away.

“Shikamaru-kun!” I cried out, moving to stand up. A hand slammed down on my shoulder, keeping me in the chair. I winced at the force put behind the grab. “You are hurting me,” I let the handsy person know.

The pressure immediately let up. “She told you to stay in the chair,” Gaara stated as we could hear another male talking to Shikamaru-kun.

The door at the end of the hall slid open. “It’s alright now,” Tsunade-sama stated. “The continuous cell destruction effect of the pill was stopped by an antidote that I had put together. This time he was saved. It was a success,” she told Shikamaru-kun who was still in hearing range. “I used a special drug-mixing manual from the Nara clan. There were some serious things in there. The result of some continuous study?” she asked of the other man who started to speak when another door opened.

“Tsunade-sama!” her assistant, Shizune-san called. “Hyuuga Neji, his condition has stabilized.”

I felt like a huge weight had been lifted off of my shoulders even though Gaara was still keeping me in the chair. The tears finally flowed in relief. I could still hear people talking but I couldn’t focus on the words. All I cared about at the moment was that Neji-san was going to be okay.

**_You managed to call him just ‘Neji’ earlier. Why can’t you do it now?_ **

I rolled my eyes and laughed quietly, confusing the boy next to me. _I want him to ask._ I could tell that she was rolling her eyes in the back of my head.

**_Are you going to let me out so you can actually see him?_ **

I gave a soft smile and shook my head ‘no’. _I’ll see him in my way._ “May I see him?” I asked out loud.

“See? Aren’t you blind?” Kankuro asked, laughing.

I shook my head again. “Please, Tsunade-sama?” I would have stood, but Gaara’s hand was still on my shoulder.

“Come on kid,” she answered. I heard her stand up.

I looked up at Gaara. “May I stand now?” he released me to stand. I straightened my clothing as I stood. “Gaara-san, why did you not use your sand?”

“You’re blind,” was the simple answer he gave.

**_I think he believed that you wouldn’t recognize the sand and he would scare you. He’s come a long way since Naruto beat him up._ **

_Why does everyone who Naruto-kun beats up changes so much?_ I asked as I followed the clicking of Tsunade-sama’s heels.

**_Who knows?_ **

She led me through the halls to a private room, probably because of the status of his clan. “Hiashi,” she greeted the other Hyuuga in the room. “I have another visitor with me.”

“Rai-chan,” the older male greeted quietly. “Come in.”

I entered the room. “Tsunade-sama, may I see him in my way?” I asked. “Is that safe for him?”

I heard her chuckle. “Just be gentle. I know you were the one that brought him in, so you know how bad he was. Come on, Hiashi. Let’s give the kids a little privacy.”

The two walked out of the hospital room and shut the door behind them. I was quiet as I walked up to the bed. I gently reached out, dragging fingertips along the edges of his face. It was burned into my mind through Ran-san’s eyes, but I wanted to see him for myself.

**_You’re so weird, you know that?_ **

_Yes._ I dragged my fingers down his chin and over his collarbone, brushing over the scar that now replaced the hole that was there only a few hours ago. Only a thin layer of bandages covered it, but the amount of healing that had taken place was obvious. I then moved my hands lower on his body, wanting to check on the other major wound. This one was also repaired and only covered by a thin bandage.

Feeling better having checked on him myself, I sat down at the edge of the bed. I lifted his hand, the skin cool for the first time that I have ever remembered. I held it between my hands, wanting to warm him up. A few more tears trickled as I placed a gentle kiss to his fingers then held his hand to my cheek.

“These hands can cause so much damage but you protected your team today,” I breathed.

I could hear his breathing change, making me drop his hand in to my lap and place a hand on the center of his chest, healing energy searching to make sure he was in no pain. It only revealed to me that he was waking up. “Neji-san?” I asked quietly.

“Rai?” His voice was scratchy and tired.

I grabbed his hand again, gently. “You’re safe. You’re in the hospital.” My voice cracked a bit against my will.

He let go of my hand and I felt his fingertips brush against my cheek, removing a stray tear. “You’re crying again.” he ground out, seeming to take all of his energy to speak.

I held his hand to my cheek. “When Ran-san found you, I was not sure we had made it in time. The nurses would not let me help. I was so scared,” I told him quietly.

“Everyone else?”

“Chouji-kun was also in critical condition. He is now safe. Kiba, Shikamaru, and Naruto had only minor injuries. They are also safe. I believe that I heard that Lee also went out, I am now remembering, along with the Sand Siblings. All of them are safe as well.”

“Sasuke?”

“Sasuke-kun is gone,” I told him.

His fingers tightened against my skin before pulling away. I let go of his hand, dropping my own into my lap. I heard him sigh heavily as his hand fell in to my lap as well. I grasped it gently, running my thumb over his knuckles in a soothing motion. “Sleep. It has been a very long day.”

“Don’t leave,” he grumbled as he succumbed to the medication and exhaustion.

I couldn’t help but smile. “I won’t.”

**_This is the first time that he’s actually said something like this. This marriage between the two of you might actually be a healthy one._ **

I gave a very soft chuckle. _I don’t know. I do seem to keep breaking down around him._

**_He keeps making you face shit that you actually need to face. He is actually somewhat healthy for you since the exam. Before then… Eh… Not so much._ **

I shook my head, not giving an answer. I let out a burst of chakra to find a second chair in the room. I pulled it alongside his bed so I did not have to sit on the edge. I took his hand again and he gripped it softly in his sleeping state. I couldn’t help a soft smile before leaning on the edge of the bed and closing my eyes, drifting off easily to sleep.

“Careful!” I could help but cry as I heard Neji-san stumble as he pushed himself out of the hospital bed. I wanted to reach for him but I knew that he would be upset if he had to lean on me.

“Relax,” he chided as he caught his balance.

I gripped the arms of the chair I was in to force myself to stay put. After several days in the hospital, Neji-san was still in pain, despite the Hokage, herself working on his healing.

I could hear him take slow, careful steps towards the door of the room, turn, and then make his way back to the bed. Today was the first day that he had been cleared to be up and about.

“How are you feeling?” the Hokage asked from beside me. “Still pain when you move your left arm?”

“Some,” he answered.

I felt the woman move away from me as she headed to his side. “If it’s still?”

“None.”

“Raise your arm over your head,” she ordered. “Now straight out in front, then to the side, then back down. How is the pain with those?”

I could hear that his breathing had become heavier. “Worst when up. Side isn’t bad, and it feels like pulling when reaching forward, but the pain is barely there.”

“Hm… I would have expected some nerve damage with that wound, but tests came back negative. The pain is only at the wound site?”

I heard him gasp in pain. I stopped myself halfway from getting up from the chair and forced myself to sit back down. I dropped my head in to my hands. I was a wreck.

Ever since he and his cousin had claimed me as family, I had become almost paranoid about their safety.

**_Do you think you should go talk to someone? Besides me?_ **

I shook my head. _I don’t want to explain to anyone else. Enough people already know._

A hand landed on my shoulder, bringing me out of my thoughts. “Tsunade-sama?” I asked quietly.

“He is clear to go home and finish healing there. He may need your help some until the pain stops, okay?” I could hear a smile in her voice. “He’s going to be fine, though. No need to worry.”

I nodded. “Thank you, Tsunade-sama.” I stood up as she let go of my shoulder, heels clicking as she left the room. “Would it be easier if I let Ran-san out to help you home or would you rather I stay? Her sight would make it easier to bring you home.”

“We’ll be fine,” came his answer as I felt his warm hand grasp mine, our fingers interlacing.

I couldn’t help the smile that pulled at my lips as we left the hospital room that had been his home for the past week. We slowly made our way out of the hospital, not wanting to irritate the healing injuries as much as possible. I could feel the warmth of the sun and a cool breeze playing with our hair as we meandered towards the Hyuuga compound.

“How are doing with learning the compound?” he asked, breaking the silence that had encompassed our walk.

I shrugged. “Not as well as I hoped. I will figure it out.”

“Have you found everyone’s rooms yet?”

I shook my head. “Other than Hinata-san and Hinabi-san’s, no.” I could feel my face begin to burn in embarrassment. I should have learned so much more of the compound by now rather than always forgetting about the stairs at the end of the hall.

**_What the hell, girlie?_ **

Ran-san’s voice sounded at the same time as Neji-san stopped quickly, his hand tightening over mine to make sure I was pulled to a stop as well. “Why are you embarrassed about this?”

I shook my head, trying to pull him to continue our walk. “It is nothing. I will figure it out.”

He pulled harder against me, causing me to stumble in to him. I pulled away quickly as I felt him tense at the pain but again, he did not let me move, wrapping his free hand around mine.

“Neji-san?” I asked, confused. I did not try and pull away again.

“Why are you embarrassed about this?” he asked again.

I sighed, wanting to run a hand through my hair to stall but he was keeping them in his grasp. “Because…” I started. “Because I should be learning the layout of the compound faster than I am. I am better than this,” I answered quietly, my voice barely above a whisper.

He moved so both of my hands were in one of his, his free hand coming up to cradle the back of my head and pulled me in to him. My ear rested over his heart, the thumping soothing my frazzled nerves. My eyes slid closed and I could feel the tension from the past week simply fall from my body. His grip on my hands was light enough that it was easy to pull them free and wrap my arms around his torso. His now free hand wrapped my shoulders, holding me tightly. I could feel his body curl some around me, as if to protect me from the horrors of the world. I could feel his breath on the top of my head.

“I’m sorry that I haven’t been there to help you more,” He mumbled against my hair.

I tightened my arms around him, cautious of his healing injuries. “You have had so much to worry about these past few weeks. You do not need to be worrying about me as well.”

I could feel him shaking his head and his arms tightened. I could hear his heart rate speed up some as well. “You are the one who I should worry about the most. You have given up so much.”

My brows furrowed and I could feel Ran-san becoming worried as well. This was not behavior that the Hyuuga had ever portrayed. “Neji-san?” I pulled away just enough so I could smooth a hand over his cheek. I could feel him press in to my palm, returning the gesture as one of his hands rested over mine, keeping my hand there.

He pressed my hand harder against his cheek for a moment before letting go. I then felt his hand cradle the back of my head again. He pulled me forward then I felt the strangest warmth and pressure on my lips. I could feel his breath rushing over my face. My eyes widened before falling closed of their own accord.

The Hyuuga male had just given me my first kiss.


	41. The News

His lips were softer than I thought they would have been. His arms were wrapped tightly around me, one around my shoulders and the other buried in my hair. One of my arms rested around his waist, the other slipping from his face to rest on his collarbone over his heart. I could feel it pounding beneath my fingertips as we broke apart minutely, our breath still mingling.

**_Wow._ **

I could not help but jump slightly at Ran-san’s sudden intrusion. I could feel Neji-san freeze beneath my fingers.

“I am sorry,” I breathed, suddenly feeling as though the world had started spinning again. “Ran-san startled me.” I let my head drop forward, letting it rest against his chest.

I could hear his heartbeat slow as he relaxed.

“You thought I was startled because of you?” I asked quietly, not wanting to disturb our moment. I also did not lift my head, staying tucked in to his chest.

He brushed a hand over my hair, pulling the hair tie and letting the shoulder length locks fall. “I wasn’t sure how you would react to me.” I could feel him sliding his fingers through my hair now that it was free of its restraint.

I smiled at the plaintive tone. “I know I am safe with you,” I murmured, pleased when I felt his arms tighten around me again at that note.

He slowly released me from the embrace to take my hand again, resuming our meandering pace towards the Hyuuga compound. “When did you realize your feelings for me?” he asked, failing to hide the nervousness that was coloring his tone.

I smiled slightly. “Getsuigakure. At the festival,” I murmured.

“Hm.” His hand tightened over mine for a moment. “Your teammates had to tell me.”

I turned my head in his direction, questioning.

**_What did they tell him?_ **

“Yes, what did they tell you?” It was my turn to pull him to a stop.

He was quiet for a moment, but he did not try and move us forward. “Ran started it with telling me that you were being taken over.”

I rolled my eyes. “We know that Ran-san does tend to be dramatic to make everything work out.”

**_Hey!_ **

“Sorry, Ran-san, but it is true.”

“She made me realize how important you were to me. Then Kaemon and Yasuo pushed me the rest of the way to recognizing the feelings for what they were,” he finished.

“When did this happen?”

He was quiet for a moment and I could feel his hand grip mine tightly, as if afraid that we would be separated. My brows furrowed and a gripped his hand back, reassuring him that I was not going anywhere. I then felt his free hand come up and curl against my jaw, his thumb brushing my cheekbone. I couldn’t help but smile and press in to the gesture, my eyes falling closed.

“When they had sealed Ran away,” he answered quietly. “You were strapped to the bed and you were in so much pain.” Neji-san’s voice seemed to be falling away as he spoke. “We talked after my uncle helped you.”

He let his hand drop from my face, making me instantly miss his warmth as he began to move us toward the compound again. We were silent for the rest of the walk there, but it was not awkward. I felt him stop shortly after entering the compound.

“What’s the easiest way to help you learn?” he asked as I felt his hand brush my hair behind my ear.

I reached for my wrist, surprised when I did not find the hair tie there. I glowered at the Hyuuga male, holding a hand out for the elastic. “Thank you,” I told him when he handed it to me. “Neji-san,” I started as I pulled my hair back in to a ponytail. “You do not have to do this.”

“Why haven’t you called me just by my name?” he asked.

**_Finally! And why haven’t you told him that you HAVE called him ’Neji’?_ **

I rolled my eyes at the jounin in my head. “I did not think it would be appropriate,” I answered both of them at once.

“Everyone calls you Rai with the exception of my uncle.”

I crossed my arms. “It’s respectful.”

“You can call me by my name.”

I could not help the blush that burned my cheeks. “Are you su-“

“Rai.”

“N-Neji.” I blushed harder at the stutter. I jumped as he grabbed my wrist, pulling my hand to his face. As my fingers brushed against his skin, I realized what he was trying to show me: he was smiling. I smiled as I brushed my thumb across his lips. He moved forward towards me and felt the same warmth as earlier of his lips coming in contact with mine. The contact did not last long, but it was enough to make my heart pound. I could feel his fingers brush over the pulse in my neck, telling me that he had noticed the reaction.

“You haven’t answered the question. What is the easiest way to help you learn?”

I closed my eyes and took a deep breath. “Remember when I followed you during that first training?”

“Yes.”

I nodded. “If we follow the same procedure, it shouldn’t take me too long.”

“So why haven’t you learned it yet? Isn’t there someone else you could have followed?”

I shook my head this time. “Everyone is so busy. I didn’t want to give them something else to worry about.”

I felt his hands grip my shoulders, making me face him squarely. I could feel the brush of his breath across my face, telling me that he had bent down to my height. “You are part of this clan, even if you haven’t taken my name yet.”

My cheeks burned brightly at that. I closed my eyes and couldn’t help but twist my fingers together, nervousness driving the action. “You are okay with eventually being married to me? I mean, you are only fifteen. And I’m sure there are other girls that you like so much more than me. I want to make sure that-“

For the third time today, I felt that warmth. As my eyes slid closed, I could honestly say that I was becoming addicted to it. He pulled away just enough that our breaths were still mingling. I opened my eyes again, despite seeing nothing; I knew he was right there.

**_We could switch out._ **

_I’m okay with this._

**_If you’re sure._ **

“What is she saying?”

I shook my head as he stood up straight. “She asked if I wanted to switch.”

He was quiet for a moment. “Why?”

“I was thinking that even without being able to see you, I still knew you were right there.” I could feel him relax in his grip on my shoulders. “Does Ran-san make you nervous?” I asked quietly.

I could hear him take a deep breath. “I do not know where I stand with her and that… unsettles me. I’m not used to feeling that way.”

**_What the hell?_ **

_Since he has known that the two of us are the same, you have been angry with him. And then there was the outing with Kaemon-san and Yasuo-san…_

**_Shit… Tell him I’m sorry._ **

_Ran-san?_

**_I’m fine. Let him take care of you today. I’ll try and stay out your way._ **

_Ran-san!_

There was no answer. It felt like she had completely retreated from our mind.

“What’s wrong?”

I gripped his shirt tightly. “She’s not answering.”

“Has she ever done this before?”

I shook my head, still trying to call her.

“Can you switch?”

“Let me try.” I cannot explain the relief I felt when I felt the familiar rush of chakra.

My brown eyes opened, seeing my hands gripping Neji’s shirt. I let go quickly, taking a step back. His hands fell from my shoulders.

“What the hell?” I cried out, at both the male in front of me and the female that resided in my head.

“Ran, what is going on?” the Hyuuga asked.

“Rai!” I yelled out loud as I turned my back on the Hyuuga. “Get back out here!”

**_No. We need to figure this out._ **

“Fucking bullshit! We don’t need to figure shit out!”

**_You are an important part of my life and I need this to work._ **

“Fuck!” I yelled, kicking a rock that was sitting on the side of the path, only to have it ricochet back and nail me in the stomach. “Shit!” I covered the now bleeding hole I had made with my hand. “That was fucking brilliant.” I watched as Rai’s healing energy covered my hand in green chakra.

“Ran,” Neji said gently as he turned me around to face him, letting go when I was facing him. “We want to help.”

I scoffed and rolled my eyes as I pulled the healing hand away from my mended stomach. “Why do you care? I scare the literal shit out of you,” I growled.

“You do,” he admitted, his eyes hiding nothing. “But you are also Rai’s best friend and the only other person I trust to take care of her.”

My eyes widened. The Hyuuga boy was known for not trusting anyone. “Why the fuck would you trust me?”

“When have you not given us a reason to?” he answered. “And despite you and Rai being different people, you do share a body, so that means if I’m involved with her, I’m involved with you. So we need to work as well.”

I watched him for a moment to see if he would show any doubt. When he didn’t, I decided to test that.

**_Ran-san! Don’t hurt him!_ **

I locked my hand in to his hair and pulled him down to my level, smashing my lips on to his. I could feel his shock before I could feel his lips move against mine, his hands resting on my hips. I smiled as I let him go. “Maybe this will be good for you, having to deal with both of us.” I grinned as his brows furrowed in confusion. “I can help you remember that you don’t have to be careful with the two of us, then Rai will be the one taking care of you.” I couldn’t help but grin as a light blush coated his cheeks.

“What is that supposed to mean?” his tone was slightly frustrated and I could feel his hands tighten on my hips.

I smirked. “It means that I prefer a lover who is rough. Rai is the caretaker of the two of us, so she’ll make sure that you are taken care of without worrying too much of her own pleasure. Me? I’ll demand it.” I let out a short laugh. “You’re both too young for that still, so you won’t have to worry about that for a while.” I gently patted his cheek, pleased when his blush darkened. I smiled and stood on my toes to brush a kiss against his cheek. “We’ll be fine.” I closed my eyes as I felt the rush of chakra.

My blind eyes opened as I let my head fall against his shoulder, my hands moving to grip his shirt again. I could not help the snort of laughter that escaped.

“What are you laughing at?” Neji asked. I felt his fingers come under my chin, lifting it so he could see my face.

“Just imagining the altercations that are going to occur between the two of you.”

“Altercations?” There was laughter in his voice.

“Yes, both physical and verbal.”

He let go of my chin as he chuckled. “Come on. Let’s start.”

He spent hours with me, walking in circles through the compound. Sometimes we chatted, subjects ranging from Lee’s recent successful surgery, to TenTen’s training, to different things that had been going on in the town. He repeated the names of the Hyuugas as we passed by so many different rooms through the main house and through the other homes in the compound, including the one that would supposedly be ours after our marriage. Though, he did not tell me until we had passed it. When I asked why, he stated, “I thought you’d enjoy the surprise.”

I shook my head but clutched his hand a little bit tighter.

“Rai!”

I whipped around to face the man calling my name. “Mokuba-san?” I asked.

“I’ve been looking for you. I need to talk to you.”

I gripped Neji’s hand tightly, barely resisting the urge to pull him in closer to me. “Is everything okay?” I asked carefully.

“It is wonderful. I’ve finally received permission to take you back to Kusabana.”

My heart stopped for a moment before pounding painfully in my chest. “I’m sorry?” I asked, my voice fragile and cracking. I could feel Neji become like a statue behind me.

I could hear the smile in his voice has he continued. “Yes, your Hokage agreed with the Elder Council that you should train in your home village before your marriage.” He clapped his hands together. “I must go speak with Kaemon and Yasuo. Oh! And I must speak with Hyuuga-sama.” As he scurried off, he called his good-byes.

I couldn’t help but still face in the direction that he left in, keeping Neji in my tight grip but at my back. I started to feel light-headed and swayed slightly.

**_Rai, breathe._ **

I sucked in a deep breath, my lungs grateful for the oxygen. I ran my free hand through my hair, pulling out my hair tie as I went. I turned slowly to face Neji, making sure to keep breathing. “Neji?” I asked quietly.

He gripped my hand tightly before releasing it to gather me in a tight hug. I wrapped my arms around him, gripping his shirt tightly.

He gently pulled away, grasping my hand. He slowly led the way through the compound before stopping in front of what I now recognized as my door.

I turned my head in his direction. “Neji?”

He let go of my hand and stepped away from me… and didn’t stop.

“Wait, N-Neji?” My voice cracked. My eyes burned and the first tear fell.


	42. I'll See You Soon

I shoved the last of Rai’s and my things that we would need for the trip in the bag. I sighed and looked around the room that had been ours for only a short while. It was still very bland without much personality as Rai had decided that she did not want any of the mementos from her old home. She had donated her family’s scrolls to the Hyuuga. I told her that since it was the Elders that decided she would be married into the family, they could shove it up their ass if they complained about her sharing soon-to-be common knowledge between the two countries.

“Ran-san?”

I turned to look at who had opened the door. “Hinata? What’s up?”

“Did you need any help packing?”

I grinned and shook my head. “Nah, we’re good. Just finished.”

She pushed the door open wider and walked into the room. “When do you guys leave?”

I sighed heavily, crossing my arms across my chest. “Tomorrow morning.” I stared at the ceiling.

“Has Neji talked to you yet?”

I felt a twinge in the back of my mind as I shook my head. “No.”

After walking Rai back to our room after hearing the news of us leaving, Neji hadn’t said anything but had just walked away despite Rai asking him to wait. Despite her begging through tears to come back. She had pulled back then, leaving me in charge. It’s been a few days, but she hasn’t responded to any of my attempts to get her to speak to me, and I don’t have the ability to push her back in charge of our body like she had done to me. That had to come from her.

“I think he broke her heart,” I told the Hyuuga girl quietly as I sat down heavily on the futon.

She sat down next to me, wrapping her arms around her knees. “Why haven’t you tried to talk to him?”

I gave her a sad smile. “Because it has to come from him. I can’t put her heart back together. He’s the only one who can, but I don’t know if she’ll ever trust him again. Not after everything he has put her through.” I rested my elbows on my knees, rubbing at my temple to try and fend off the beginnings of a headache. “After everything we did to get her this far, I think he just destroyed all of it,” I admitted to her.

Hinata moved closer to me then rested her head on my shoulder. “We’ll help her as much as we can.”

“She still has to marry the guy.” I rested my head on top of hers, staring at the wall across from us. “There is nothing we can do to protect her from that.”

We sat in silence for a while, both thinking about the poor girl who had done as much as she could to leave the world that had hurt her so much behind.

I pulled the backpack up higher on my shoulders and I gazed over the group of people that were departing this morning for Kusabana: the two members of the Elder Council, their guard, Mokuba, Yasou, and Kaemon. None of them knew what had happened or of the fact that my head had been a very quiet and lonely place after over a year of sharing it.

I turned to face Hinata who had promised to see us off, stating “you should have at least one of us there”, referring to the Hyuuga clan.

I smiled a sad sort of smile at her and held out my arms. She smiled back and rushed to give me a hug. I held her tightly, squeezing my eyes shut. She had followed through with her words and had become like a sister to Rai and me. “I’ll see you before you know it. I know the Elders are going to want Rai to finally have her Naming Ceremony. Maybe you could round up a few people and come for that. I’ll try and convince Kohei to carry a few letters for us that way I can let you know.”

As I let her go, movement behind her caught my eye. I looked up and my eyes widened. “Neji?”

He looked like a wreck. You could tell he hadn’t been sleeping and what little he had been able to get had been in his clothes. “Ran,” he said quietly, moving slowly towards us.

I was surprised when Hinata stepped between us and blocked his path. “No,” she stated firmly. “Not after what you did.”

He just stared at her, seeming to not be able to string words together.

I took a deep, steadying breath. “Hinata, it’s okay.”

“No, it’s not!” She turned towards me. “We don’t even know how badly he hurt her because she won’t talk to us.” She turned back to him. “Rai hasn’t talked since you walked away. You hurt her,” she told him.

His gaze widened and leapt to me. He looked almost desperate. “What?”

I knew if I was in a normal state of mind, I would have hit him with everything I had, demon power and all. But now? I was worried about her. I wanted her back, and I was willing to try anything.

I nodded. “After you walked away, she withdrew completely. I can’t feel her. ” I stared down at the ground.

Hands landed on my shoulders, causing me to look up in surprise. “Do you think she can hear me?”

I looked at him with wide eyes. “If she’s listening, then yes. I can still hear if I’m pulled all of the way back.”

His eyes bored into mine. “Rai, I’m sorry. I shouldn’t…” He took a deep breath, closing his eyes to steady himself. “I’m not ready to lose you, even for just a short time,” he said quietly, meaning for this to be a conversation for just us, and wanting to avoid drawing any more attention from the crowd around us. “I just found you. I know I haven’t talked about my past, but everyone who has left me, has left for good. I can’t bear the thought of you leaving me too.”

For the first time, I could feel her. I could feel her emotions too. I didn’t even try to block them from mine as tears filled my eyes and began to drip.

**“Why? Why did you walk away?”** she asked, whispering in a cracked voice.

He gripped my shoulders tighter, as if trying to hold on to her. “I don’t know how to face these new feelings. I’m sorry. I thought it would be easier if I tried to go back to how I was before. But I can’t let you leave… not like that.”

He moved his hand to my jaw, grasping it hard enough that I couldn’t pull away as his lips met mine in a desperate kiss. More tears fell as I closed my eyes. I felt my vision go out as I lost control.

My hands moved and dug into his hair, clinging to him almost as desperately as the kiss we were currently involved in. I pulled away as I found myself having trouble breathing. I pressed my forehead against his collarbone, trying to stop hyperventilating. It didn’t help as I felt a sob force itself through my throat. I untangled one hand from his hair to press against my mouth as I tried to keep it in. It wouldn’t matter if I cried. It would just push him from me again. I couldn’t let him know.

**_Rai! Stop it!_ **

Ran’s voice startled me enough that the sob slipped through and once it started, I couldn’t seem to stop. I attempted to push him away, so I wouldn’t have to feel him do it to me, but he kept his arm locked around my waist and his free hand forced my face up before wiping away my tears.

“I’m sorry,” he whispered, pressing his forehead to mine, his ninja headband cold.

I shook my head, another sob wracking my body, and tried to pull away again. He just wouldn’t let me leave! Why did he have to do this? Why did have to hurt this much to feel like I had to pull away? Why did it feel like my heart wanted to leap out of my chest and stay with him even though I wanted to make sure I was never close enough for him to hurt me again?

**_It’s because you love him._ **

I shook my head again. Love wasn’t supposed to hurt this bad. “I can’t… I can’t do this again.”

The hand that was wiping at my tears stopped its movement and cradled my jaw, his thumb brushing across my cheekbone. “I will make this up to you,” he stated firmly, his grasp tightening as I attempted to pull away again. “I don’t want to hurt you ever again. I will never hurt you again.”

I went to go push him away with all of my strength, but my body seemed to disobey me, my hands gripping his shirt so tightly that they were shaking. “Walk a-away now if y-you c-can’t keep that pr-promise,” I told him. I took a deep breath to steady myself. “I will explain it to the Elders and you will never see me again. I will stay in Kusabana,” I told him. I meant every word. I would rather stay in a place that will hate me for who I am then go through this type of pain again. I wouldn’t survive it.

In response, he gripped me tightly. “You will never regret coming back to me.” He pressed a gentle kiss to my forehead, his grip keeping me pressed to him.

I took a deep, shuddering breath then hugged him tight enough that people would have thought we were trying to merge into one, and he hugged me back just as tightly.

“Rai, let’s go!” Yasuo called.

I held him for another moment before I loosened my grip slowly. He held me for a moment longer. His hands came up to wipe away some of the tears that were still falling. “We’ll write, and I’ll come visit when I can,” he declared quietly.

I nodded. “Ran-san believes that they will have me go through my Naming Ceremony finally. She invited Hinata.”

“I’ll try to go.”

I nodded again before sliding a hand along his face, guiding myself to press a gentle kiss to his lips. He added more pressure before we finally separated. I gave him a soft smile and turned away.

_You can have it back,_ I told Ran-san before giving her control.

I shook out my brown hair before pulling it up into a high ponytail. I turned one last time to look at the two members of the Hyuuga Clan that had seen us off this early morning. Neji looked ruffled and tired while his cousin was finally starting to look healthy again after the near-cardiac arrest. I smiled and waved to both of them as I turned back to the large gates that were the exit of Konoha.

**_We’ll see them soon._ **

I smiled at the familiar feeling of having Rai there. _I missed you, girlie._

**_I missed you too. I’m sorry._ **

_Just don’t do it again. Deal?_

**_Deal._ **


End file.
